The weather this week has been awful, and I find myself wondering where the summer has gone. Of course, this is not unusual for North Yorkshire, but it would be nice to have the top up on the van again.

When I bought a pop-top campervan, I did so with the thought that I would still be able to fit under those annoying car park barriers but also enjoy headroom and being able to stand up while parked.

When the top is up there’s ample headroom and its a different space entirely.

However, the pop-top is not quite the handy solution I thought it would be.

To start with, the thickness of the pop-top lid, plus the solar panel, makes the van still just too high to fit under the barriers. We’re talking a cm. Most annoying.

The other annoying thing about having a pop-top is that it’s like a tent.

In a heavy downpour, the water eventually starts to seep in. It’s also really cold because it has zero insulation. I have a diesel heater, but it feels wasteful to run it with the top up, as the heat just escapes, so you have to run it continuously.

Then there’s the wind. You can’t have the top up in heavy wind because of the risk of it blowing off entirely or, worse, tipping the van over.

There are more windy days than you realise. Trust me.

Even in mild wind, the noise of the tent sides billowing and flapping is quite annoying.

Pair all this with the fact that whoever fitted the pop-top didn’t seal things properly, so rain seeps in through the fixings when the roof is in the up position.

An outside view of Noah with the top popped. And a Cockrill called Barney, because all the best campsites have chickens.

When I first bought the van, the roof leaked even in the down position.

The previous owner drilled holes in the roof to fit the solar panel and didn’t use adequate sealer. In fact, on a couple of the bolts, he didn’t use any at all…

The first time it rained heavily, I suddenly found myself scrambling to find enough pots to catch the water.

That issue was easily solved with some gutter seal and a ladder, but the leaky fixings have so far resisted treatment. I plan to make another attempt at this next month, weather permitting. I’m also planning to reproof the tent material to help with the water seepage.

During the winter, the van spent a lot of time in cave mode. Top down, me moving around like a hunchback inside. I longed for summer when the roof would be up continuously, and I could even sleep on the upstairs bedboard!

Noah in his winter cave state. He was lovely and toasty inside though.

However, I forgot that I live in Britain, so even in the summer, there are a lot of rainy, windy days.

Honestly, I regret my choice, and I will definitely go with a high-roof van next time. I dream of cosy rainy days in the van, walking around upright like a normal person. I watch YouTube videos of van lifers walking around in their high-top vans, and I get the envy.

Such is life.

Anyway, enough about the van; it’s time to move on to more positive news.

The Ugly Babies are growing fast!

There are five chicks in the nest, and they all seem to be thriving. I expected a couple would die off along the way due to insufficient food, but the mum is doing a fantastic job keeping up with five hungry bellies.

When I peek in now, the little eyes are open and staring back at me.

If I make cheeping noises, they all stand up, beaks open and ready for food.

Look how tall they are!

The mother is still not amused with my nosiness but is tolerant.

I forgot how fast the baby birds grow. Soon, they’ll be flinging themselves out of the nest and causing the mum lots of stress, I’m sure.

They almost have all their feathers now. Surely, it’ll only be another few weeks before they learn to fly. I wonder if they’ll hang around the garden or fly off to new territory.

I’ll keep you posted.

Not much else has been going on this week.
I achieved a new front panel for the van to repair the damage from the gate. This Friday, I need to buy the correct paint to spray it.
It’s a long and faffy process and one I could have done without. But that’s van life.
The bad weather has ended my gardening plans, and the cottage has been very cold due to the lack of sun. I’ve been holed up in the van for most of the week with the heater running, although I did have a lovely movie evening in the cottage, in front of the TV with the fire burning, which was nice. Hopefully, the sun will return soon, and garden work can resume.

Fox

xx