One website, 365 days and the growing world of Nix There is something rather satisfying about owning your own little corner of the internet. Social media is useful, YouTube is brilliant for video, and Facebook can send a photograph flying around faster than a DJI Mini 4 Pro with a tailwind. But a website is different. It is home. It is the place where everything can be brought together properly, without an algorithm deciding that today nobody is allowed to see it. That is wha

Part One – First Impressions, Engineering & Technical Deep Dive “Some pieces of camping equipment simply make life easier. Others change the way you camp forever.” ⸻ Introduction There are purchases that solve a problem, and there are purchases that completely reshape how you enjoy the outdoors. For me, Outpost belongs firmly in the second category. For years, my campervan Vanilla has been my home on wheels. It has taken me across Britain and Europe, carried me to festivals,

"You can spend £thousands on an e-bike... but it's the £50 lock hanging off it that often decides whether you still own it tomorrow." I've spent the last few weeks turning my Scott Aspect eRIDE 910—better known as Torque—into exactly the bike I wanted. Orange pedals. Orange grips. Orange valve caps. Mudguards. Lights. Bottle cage. Every upgrade has had one purpose: making Torque the perfect companion for days out, campervan adventures and exploring the forests of Cannock Chas

Tackeroo is barely five miles from my front door, yet this no-frills woodland campsite feels like another world. Here is what it offers, what to pack and why it may be Cannock Chase's finest little escape.

14 Nights Along England's Greatest Coastline From the Official Start at Orcombe Point to the Official Finish at Old Harry Rocks 7th September 2026 – 21st September 2026 🦕 Introduction There are road trips. There are campervan adventures. And then there are journeys that take you through almost 200 million years of Earth's history. This September, Vanilla and I are setting off on one of Britain's greatest touring routes — the magnificent Jurassic Coast. Stretching for 95 mile

Salcombe to Swanage Coastal Roads. Epic Views. Proper Pubs. 🎬 PROLOGUE There comes a point in every man's life when he has to ask himself an important question. "Do I really need another adventure?" The answer, of course, is yes. Always yes. By September 2026 I will have crossed Europe, conquered the NC500, wandered around Rome, explored Cornwall, photographed half of Britain from the air and spent more nights in Vanilla than some people spend in their own spare bedrooms. Bu

Lake Bled 4,249 Miles • 6,839 Kilometres • 12 Countries • 29 Nights • One Campervan Called Vanilla There are moments in life when you realise that if you don't do something now, you may never do it at all. For me, that moment arrived in May 2026. At 62 years old, with a VW campervan called Vanilla sitting on the driveway in Milford, Staffordshire, I decided it was time to stop talking about Europe and actually go and see it. Not from the window of an aircraft. Not from a hote

Introduction – This One Just Looks Right Some campervan purchases are sensible. Some are practical. Some are just exciting. The orange INTIGNIS Deep Non-Stick Frying Pan with Lid somehow manages to be all three at once. The moment you see it, it already feels like it belongs in Vanilla. With Vanilla being Indium Grey with orange accents, this pan almost feels like it was designed specifically for your van. It has that same slightly adventurous, modern, outdoorsy look that fit

The 21-Day Alpine Masterplan This is not just a route. This is the full Alpine pilgrimage for Vanilla: a 21-day Stafford-to-Stafford adventure across France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the French Alps. Think less “motorway slog” and more “Top Gear meets Tomorrow’s World meets a man with an unhealthy interest in mountain passes, campsite barriers and whether his Nebula projector will still work at 7,000 feet.” Day 1 – Stafford to Folkestone Approx distance: 245 miles Over

Right… strap in. This is not a trip.This is a full-blown European expedition —the kind of journey that makes you look at the driveway differently when you get back. You, Vanilla , and 21 days of: 🏔️ jaw-dropping mountains 🌊 sunlit coastlines 🇮🇹 golden Tuscany 🇧🇦 raw Balkan energy 🚐 and that glorious feeling of just rolling on And the timing? Early May = absolute perfection. No crowds. No heatwave misery. Just Europe at its best . 🎬 THE ROUTE (PURE FLOW, ZERO WASTE) S

A Two-Day Campervan, Drone & Action Camera Adventure Through the Peak District 4 There are some places in Britain where the landscape seems almost designed for exploration. The Peak District is one of them. It sits in the middle of England like an ancient geological shrug — limestone valleys in the south, wild moorland in the north, reservoirs carved between ridges and roads that wind across the hills like someone spilled a bowl of spaghetti over a map. Perfect campervan te

The Ultimate Adventure Camera for Campervans, Drones, and Robot Lawn Mowers Technology sometimes advances quietly. No fireworks. No dramatic announcements. Just a small object that suddenly makes things possible that were previously difficult or expensive. The DJI Action 4 is one of those devices. It’s a rugged, waterproof action camera that fits in your pocket, yet it can capture footage that looks remarkably close to professional travel filmmaking. Twenty years ago, filming

There are some objects in life that quietly get on with their job. No fuss. No nonsense. No app required. A proper bit of engineering that does one thing extremely well. The 700 ml Bobber food flask belongs firmly in that category. It’s the sort of thing a Victorian engineer would nod approvingly at. A thermos that holds heat like a stubborn old boiler room. The kind of flask that would happily accompany an Arctic expedition, a builder’s lunch break, or — more realistically

A Proper Slow-Cooker Classic (450 Calories per Portion) Some recipes are complicated for the sake of looking impressive. This one is the opposite. It’s the sort of thing you put together in ten minutes, leave alone for most of the afternoon, and return to find the kitchen smelling like a countryside pub. The magic comes from three things working together: • slow heat• collagen in the beef• natural starch from vegetables That combination quietly transforms a pot of simple ingr

There’s something deeply civilised about espresso. Not a floppy paper cup from a petrol station. Not instant granules pretending to be brave. I mean proper espresso — thick crema, dark body, that tiny concentrated hit of clarity that says, right then, let’s get on with it . Now imagine making that in a lay-by. Or at the top of a hill. Or inside your campervan while the sunrise burns orange through the windscreen. That’s where the OutIn Nano steps in. And it doesn’t mess abou

Specs, chemistry, scenarios, reviews, edge-cases, and the quiet confidence of a system that never panics There is a particular kind of peace that comes from knowing exactly where your electrons are, where they’re going, and who is responsible for them when things get cold, dark, or mildly inconvenient. This blog is about that peace. What follows is not a casual overview. It is a full systems walk-through of my power setup: fixed electrics, portable power stations, intellige

How I Keep Vanilla’s Power Civilised, Predictable, and Battery-Friendly Every good system has three characters. Not more. Not fewer. Three is the sweet spot — enough redundancy to be resilient, not so much complexity that things start arguing with each other. In my campervan, the NIX Battery Top-Up Strategy is built around three major players , each with a very clear job description. Nobody overlaps. Nobody freelances. Everybody behaves. Player One: The Energy Reservoir Jack

1. Classic British Beef, Onion & Potato Stew Finished yield: ~800 ml Ingredients 350 g stewing beef, large chunks 1 large potato (250 g), chunky 1 medium onion (180 g), thick slices 1 medium carrot (120 g), chunky 1½ tbsp plain flour 1½ tbsp tomato purée 330 ml beef stock 1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce Salt & black pepper 1 tbsp oil or butter Cooking instructions Brown beef hard in oil, season well. Sprinkle flour over beef, stir 30 seconds. Add onion and carrot, cook 5 minutes

How I Power Vanilla for Days Using Jackerys + a Leisure Battery (Without Losing My Mind) There’s a very specific moment in campervan life when you realise you’ve crossed a line. It’s usually at night. The fridge is humming. The heater is quietly ticking away. Your phone is charging. The lights are on. It’s raining gently outside. And somewhere in the back of your head, a little voice whispers: “This… this should not be working this well.” Welcome to my off-grid power setup. T

How a humble pair of light-grey clogs became my unofficial uniform — at home and in Vanilla Some things earn a name. Not because marketing told them to, but because life quietly confirmed it. These light-grey Crocs Baya clogs are no longer “the Crocs.” They are The Grey Nomads — always ready, always by the door, always coming along for the ride. They don’t stay in one place. They migrate between kitchen, garden, drive, campervan, campsite and back again with the calm confide