I know my friends in Toronto where I used to live would be laughing themselves silly about me muttering about a minus 2 degrees C temperature this morning when minus 20 in Toronto was routine and well below that not uncommon. However, these things tend to be relative and in my part of the UK, minus 2 is a big deal and a couple of inches of snow is a life disrupting event. 

Today has seen no snow but a sharp frost and the playing fields at the front of my house are looking picturesque. I love these cold mornings and there has been a fair bit of comment from motorhomers and caravanners alike that waking up with a minus 2 degree temperature inside the van and not a lot of action from the taps for a cup of tea is no fun at all. Which clearly it isn’t.

So what do I do? My motorhome lives here at the house and is ready for use at five minutes notice. I keep an eye on the weather forecast and the moment it indicates temperatures below 10 degrees C on comes the heating set at 10 degrees and in that way everything stays fine – no freezing pipes, clothes and bedding kept in prime condition and everything ready to go at the drop of a hat when I am in the mood. Mostly I stay on regulated sites in the UK and in continental Europe and I mostly rely in these temperatures on all electric heating to provide background heating. Frankly I love my creature comforts and simply cannot see the point of travel coupled with severe discomfort. I was brought up as a child in cold houses; ice on the inside of windows and all that sort of excitement and I vowed at quite a young age not to carry through this spartan upbringing into adulthood.

Call me a wimp but I enjoy EVERY aspect of touring in my motorhome; including touring at short notice in very cold weather.

Oh. I forgot to mention I keep an excellent bottle of Japanese whisky in the freezer. Clearly the alcohol content keeps it from freezing and, maybe contrarily, ending a winter’s evening in the motorhome with a measure of this much prized drink seems to help me sleep. It’s a medicinal thing……

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews