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Camping doesn’t have to cramp your style – at least not according to this seasoned caravanner
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- Hello, N.P., I said over the telephone, I hear that you have been camping something crazy!Crazy? Naah, my camping has always been fairly civilised. You know, at camping sites and such.
- All right, all right, you know what I mean, I interrupted N. P. Hyslop who has worn out six caravans since 1963 and is well known at most camping sites.
- But honestly, camping and caravanning, is that not all about wet sleeping bags and punctured air mattresses? No, not necessarily, he replied unruffled. Camping can be lots of things. It can be relaxing. It can be very sophisticated - with shirt and tie or even a dinner jacket and evening dress. A caravanning holiday is exactly what you make of it.
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 - Are you telling me that you have been wearing a tie and dinner jacket?
Yes, I'm a tie man. And when we go caravanning we often go to parties or out for dinner. The clothes must match the occasion, and it's perfectly possible to cross a well-tended lawn on a camping site in your best Sunday shoes without attracting too much attention.
- And without being ridiculed?Oh yes. They might give you some funny looks, but the other caravanners will soon learn that camping can be more than just air mattresses and sleeping bags.
- Tell me, what is so enjoyable about eating ravioli day in and day out from a sooty saucepan?Well, actually it's far nicer to have warm, freshly baked buns out of the oven on Sunday morning, because it is not unusual for a caravan to have a fairly good oven. And, as a matter of fact, I have cooked a duck on a wonderful barbecue around New Year in minus three to four degrees. We've also had dinner parties in the caravan and the awning. Camping and caravanning is still exactly what you make of it. If you adapt to the weather you can camp all year round. If your caravan or tent is water-proof it can be a very pleasant experience playing cards while the rain trickles down your plastic windows, hopefully keeping you dry and warm inside. |
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-Isn't it a bit boring to go camping or caravanning in Denmark?No, Denmark is really the most beautiful country you can imagine. We have been caravanning a lot, both in Denmark and abroad - from St. Petersburg to the West Country in England and from the North Cape to Italy.
What is fascinating about travelling abroad is the varied countryside and, not least, the mountainous areas, but there is still plenty to appreciate in the Danish countryside.
We have just come back from Provence and there is no doubt about it, the Mediterranean cannot match the North Sea. Where would you find an area more beautiful than the Lakeland District around Silkeborg? Thanks to the strict classification requirements Denmark is on its way to becoming Europe's best camping country.
- Do you go camping and caravanning every weekend?We did when we had a house. Camping was a way of getting away from the tiresome obligations of having a house and a garden. But since we moved into an almost brand new flat there does not seem to be the same need to escape.
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- Isn't it tiring always having to be so friendly and having to always talk to your neighbours? I suppose that if you are doing something that really goes against the grain, then it becomes a bit false. There's no point in that. But if it comes naturally, then you will have plenty of opportunity to meet new people and make friends. Because, in general, caravanners are a bit like dog owners. There is always something to talk about, they always have something in common.
- It may also be a good way to make new friends, I mean, meeting under primitive conditions.
You just said primitive again! It is not at all primi...
- Well, very basic, then! Yes, it is very rewarding to meet other people under basic conditions where no one expects more from you than the surroundings permit.
- Okay, I give in. So there is nothing bad about caravanning at all?
Oh, yes, there is. There is not enough time...
Kim Engelbrechtsen
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