Why a Citroën Holidays campervan is the perfect family day trip companion

I’ve always considered myself lucky to have grown up on the south coast, not far from the Purbecks. Also known as the Jurassic Coast, this area was my playground when I was young; my family’s happy place at the weekend. Days out crabbing in Swanage, playing hide and seek around Corfe Castle, rock-pooling at Kimmeridge or paddling at Lulworth. Maybe even hiking to Durdle Door.

Today, I live in the New Forest, itself a world-renowned beauty spot that I appreciate daily – so maybe that’s why I don’t visit the Purbecks so regularly now… It’s too easy enjoy the sights on my own doorstep.

But my daughter Florence is nine years old and I’ve promised her that this summer we’d spend more time around the places that I remember so fondly from my childhood.

Not just for sleeping in

And so, I find myself loading up the cheerful Citroën Holidays campervan one Saturday morning. This is an important point to make: A campervan isn’t just for overnight stays. It’s way more than that. Just ask someone that lives with the vehicular Swiss army knife that is the Citroën Holidays, and you’ll find the real beauty is the flexibility and convenience you get even on day trips.

The Holidays is part of Citroën’s impressive range that includes their groundbreaking electric vehicles – something we know well at Big Issue through our Driving Change for Good partnership with the French manufacturer.

Having that comfortable space with swivelling captain’s chairs to admire the view while you make a hot cup of tea or a chilled drink from the fridge, being able to charge everything from the leisure battery, having the headroom to towel off after you’ve been in the sea, using the huge boot space to throw your picnic chairs and paraphernalia… The list goes on.

Of course, you can raise the roof to have overnight comforts, too. But if you spend time with the Citroën Holidays campervan you find yourself relishing the daily practicality wins just as much as the potential for spontaneous getaways further afield.

Today it’s very windy, so I’m feeling particularly smug about having the van for extra shelter. Flo and I have invited her friend Evie along – and the sheer joy with which they romp around the van’s interior before we leave is brilliant. Illuminated cupboards, a working fridge, sink and hob – and enough space for the girls to stand up and move around. For kids, the Citroën Holidays campervan is like Narnia.

As we squeeze through the village of Corfe, I am mostly grateful for the Holiday’s narrow width. Versatile and roomy it may be, but it’s no wider than a big car and that is a huge bonus as I wind past Corfe’s chocolate-box cottages and narrow streets.

The castle is the big attraction here. Demolished by Oliver Cromwell in 1646, it has been owned by the National Trust since the late 1980s and is one of the most iconic of Dorset landmarks. It’s also one of the most popular tourist destinations, rearing out of the landscape – crooked, gnarly and ancient – it takes my breath away.

Evie and Flo love it here. It’s achingly beautiful, and even with young kids full of energy, it’s lovely to just amble past the houses and imagine what the village was like in centuries gone by. Plus, The Sweet Shop and the village bakery provide ample treats and distractions.

From castle to coastline

There’s a new arcadia over every grassy hilltop in the Purbecks, and the big windows and cushiony armchair seats in the Citroën Holidays are perfect for enjoying it. You sit high up and peer down – often peeking over hedges, and with a great view all around you. There’s an instant, elbow-on-the-sill ambience to the Holidays campervan. You sit back, plug your destination in on the nav – or you can mirror your phone’s map apps – take a deep breath, relax and just let the automatic gearbox and 2.0-litre diesel motor mutter along quietly while you take in the vista. I know it’s literally written on the side of the vehicle, but the moment you relax into the Citroën, you do feel… well, like you’re on your holidays!

It is only 15 minutes of gentle touring before we pull up at Kimmeridge Bay. Less well known than its poster-child neighbour, Lulworth Cove, Kimmeridge is windy and wild. Come at low tide, and the bay is a rockpooling nirvana. Hundreds of tiny underwater worlds hidden among great slabs of layered stone that’s also famous as a fossil-hunting site. We find an almost empty car park, and with energy still to burn the girls want to have a run about, while I am happy to sit in the Holidays van and keep an eye on them.

I plan to set up the foldaway table and picnic in the van, but the girls are enjoying the seaside bluster outside and I’m persuaded to enjoy a windswept sandwich and a cold drink. Can I explain why a fridge in a van is exciting? No. But is it exciting, even for me at 41? Yes, absolutely!

That said, the van is the real star of this day out. I love how much space I have to keep all the games, food and treats, drinks, coats, suncream and more out of the way in the boot and cupboards, so that we can make the most of having a mobile living space. For the girls, the Citroën Holidays campervan is an adventure in itself, from the removable, sliding rear seats and fold-down picnic tables to the games on the touchscreen, there is magic in every clever little cubby and convenience. It’s the perfect mobile comfort zone from which to enjoy this trip out, showing off some of the landmarks that I remember so vividly from when I was my daughter’s age.

Whether you’re staying overnight or not, the Citroën Holidays campervan is an instant memory maker.

Find out more at citroen.co.uk/models/new-citroen-holidays.html

CITROËN HOLIDAYS CAMPERVAN FACTFILE

Cost from: £55,285 OTR

Engine: 2.0-litre turbodiesel

Transmission: Automatic, front-wheel drive

Sleeps: 4 adults in two double beds

One Spec: Everything is standard