…and our hopes for the future
Seasons greetings from all of us in the Love Campers team. We hope that the year ahead will be one full of new horizons, adventures and prosperity for all our readers and customers, (well in fact, for everyone, everywhere, no matter who or where you are!)
We’re grateful you’ve made it to our little corner of the internet and we thank you for taking the time to read this post… 🙂
Let’s be honest, the last few years have been quite the rollercoaster. Full of twists and turns; of uncertainty, challenges and hardship. It’s been the year when, for so many of us, the rug was well and truly swept from beneath our feet, forcing us to take stock and reassess our lives. As we’ve watched the events of 2020 & 2021 unfold it’s left the whole team at Love Campers feeling rather reflective.
So, to round the year up, here are three things we’ve learnt along the way, and how we’re feeling about what is yet to come…
1.The years we were really taught to slow down our travel…
In 2020 the world of travel ground to a halt and the tourism industry took a hit like nothing any of us had seen before. Planes stopped flying, borders closed down, and we were all urged to stay at home to protect the NHS as well as each other.
It has become clear to us all that the future of travel is going to look very different from what we’ve previously known. The days of open borders and visa-free exploration are a distant memory, at least for now, and we’ve opened our eyes to the beauty on our own doorstep.
And with the ‘King of the travel guides’, Lonely Planet officially encouraging the need to transform the travel industry to something more sustainable, gone are the days of jetting off for two weeks of fast-paced adventures.
Once again we’ve been reminded of the importance of slow, conscious travel.
And so, one silver lining to the pandemic has been that globe-trotters everywhere are taking heed to commit to more sustainable travel habits. It has given all of us a chance to ask ourselves how and why we travel. And we’re hopeful that this will lead to a different kind of travel bug in the years to come: one with more thought, intention and respect for our planet, at the core.
2.The years we saw that we could help make “the outdoors” more inclusive
This year saw the Black Lives Matter movement bring extra attention to the lack of diversity and inclusion across all aspects of life. For us, it shone a welcome light on the lack of equal access to the “outdoors”, and the narrow approach to representation across much of #vanlife social media.
As individuals and as a company we have always been committed to inclusion and accessibility. Our first ever campervan conversion was a wheelchair accessible one and over the years we have supported disability charities and built many bespoke vans designed to help people with disabilities access the outdoors and the pleasures of holidaying in a campervan.
We are however painfully aware that something we take for granted, travelling around the UK and beyond in our campervans, is something that feels beyond the reach of many, whether because of race, disability, gender, sexuality, or access to funding.
We passionately believe that true #vanlife aspiration should be rich and inclusive, a vision of as many different kinds of people as possible accessing the natural world, having their own meaningful experiences, and learning to love and respect our beautiful outdoors.
For us, 2021 is going to involve building on these values, and we look forward to sharing great times with you, whoever you are!
3.The years we fully realised how much we need each other
Yes, we know it sounds like a cliché and straight out of an instagram #quoteoftheday, but 2020 really has forced us to wake up to the importance of other people in our lives.
There can’t be anyone in the world who hasn’t missed someone this year, and sadly there will be many who have lost people they love very much.
The hard reality of 2020 is that it has caused all kinds of devastation – whether that be illness, death or economic hardship. This crisis has given us a time to reflect on our feelings – and we believe that we can let those feelings act as signposts for the future.
For many, the ultimate lesson of 2020 has been to truly appreciate things we may have previously taken for granted. Maybe, like us, you’re feeling tempted by a simpler lifestyle…?
One positive outcome of 2020, for us at Love Campers, is that we’re surer than ever that campervanning meets some very basic needs. It gives us the opportunity to get outdoors into nature, spending simple, quality time with the people we love.
Looking to the future…
While it’s been the year that none of us wanted, we bet that just like us, you’ve had to learn how to be adaptable, resilient and self-sufficient? Now’s the time to give yourself a pat on the back for all you’ve got through so far.
As we head into the new year we hope you’ll join us in hoping for a happier year ahead – one where we can follow our dreams and take part in plenty of adventures!
Roll on 2022, and show us what you’ve got!