Are you the sort of person who spots a road disappearing over the horizon and immediately wonders where it goes? We understand the feeling.
VanVentures is a travel blog built around getting out, going somewhere new and seeing what we find along the way. It started with us, Craig and Matt, two travellers with a shared curiosity for road trips, interesting places and the bits of a journey that tend to become stories afterwards.
There is, of course, a van involved.
These days she is called Cher. After the amount of work she’s had done to her, the name seemed less like a choice and more like an inevitability.
Most of our travels are around the UK, but we’re certainly not confined to it. If there’s somewhere interesting further afield, we’re quite happy to see where the road takes us.
What VanVentures is about
At its heart, VanVentures is about exploring places and sharing the useful bits as well as the memorable ones.
You’ll find places, stopovers, road trips, walks, reviews and practical articles across the site. Some are firmly rooted in van and campervan travel. Others might start with a town we wanted to explore, somewhere we spotted on a map or a detour that looked more interesting than the original plan.
We’d rather tell you what somewhere was actually like than simply declare it wonderful and move on. Was it worth the detour? What was useful to know? Did the plan work?
That last one is always optimistic.
Who’s behind VanVentures?
VanVentures was founded by us, Craig and Matt, and we’re still the owners and the two people behind most of the wandering, questionable route choices and conversations that begin with, “Shall we just have a look?”
We also have a few contributors who share their own travels, places and useful experiences on VanVentures. You’ll spot names such as Jodie, Kerrie, Ruth, Sophie and Rob around the site, along with a few other contributors.
They’re not a mysterious VanVentures editorial department hiding behind the scenes. They’re simply people with something useful or interesting to add, which gives the site a few different perspectives without changing what VanVentures is at its core.
Craig, Matt and an occasionally temperamental Cher are still very much at the centre of it all.
You don’t need a van to come along
The clue is admittedly in the name, but you certainly don’t need a campervan to find something useful here.
If you’re travelling by car, planning a road trip, looking for a walk, arranging a family day out, taking the dog somewhere different or heading away as a couple, plenty of the same details still matter.
The van perspective simply means we notice a few extra things. Parking matters a little more. The road into somewhere can matter. Facilities suddenly become surprisingly interesting.
Where those details genuinely help, we include them. Where they don’t, we don’t try to turn a perfectly good walk into a vanlife article simply because Cher was parked nearby.
The journey is usually half the story
We’re interested in destinations, but also what happens between them. A quick detour can become the best part of the day. Somewhere you expected to love can disappoint, while a place you barely thought about beforehand can make you glad you stopped.
That’s why you’ll find everything from scenic drives and walks to roadside curiosities, stopovers and places we simply wanted to investigate.
Not every worthwhile stop needs to be spectacular. Interesting, useful, enjoyable or just a bit different will do nicely.
Honest travel, including the awkward bits
We don’t pretend every trip goes perfectly.
Our stopovers and reviews are about what we actually found, including the compromises. If somewhere worked well, we’ll say so. If reality was a little different from what we expected, we’ll say that too.
The same goes for vanlife. There’s the version with open roads, peaceful views and a mug positioned suspiciously well beside an open door. Then there’s the version where something has developed a noise it definitely wasn’t making yesterday.
We’re interested in both.
That’s why practical vanlife sits alongside our trips and destination guides. Travel can be brilliant, but it also involves planning, costs, repairs and occasionally giving your van a new name because she’s had that much work done.
So, where next?
There are plenty more roads to travel, walks to try and places to investigate around the UK and further afield. Some will be carefully planned. Others will almost certainly begin with somebody looking at a map and saying, “What’s that?”
Cher will presumably have her own opinion on how smoothly any of this should go.
So have a look through our places, stopovers, trips, reviews and articles. Whether you’re travelling by campervan, van or car, heading out on foot or simply looking for ideas for your next trip, hopefully you’ll find something useful along the way.