WATER ON TAP

Cooking and dining during a campervan or motorhome holiday can be one of the greatest pleasures – especially when the weather is mild enough for dining al-fresco, pitched up with a beautiful view. Here are the kinds of facilities you will find. Most campervans and motorhomes come with a twin-burner gas hob and a sink with cold running water, pumped from a simple water container. Some of the larger ones, especially those with a rear-kitchen layout, have enough space for a microwave oven that you can use only when you are hooked up to campsite electrics. And a few have space for a gas oven or grill, or even a full domestic-style gas cooker with hob, grill and oven. Now, the most up-todate campers may even have an electric induction hob. In most campervans there will also be a fridge or a coolbox. Some of the older campervan designs have top-loading fridges, which can mean you have quite a bit of rummaging to find the item you need at the bottom of the heap inside. The better campervans have a domestic-style front-opening fridge, so that you can retrieve your food and drink easily. Some campervan fridges also have an ice box (parents will save a fortune if they stock it with supermarket Cornettos instead of queueing for the ice cream van at the beach!)These front-opening fridges often come with a door that you can lock slightly ajar, to keep them well aired if you decide to switch the fridge off between trips. To make hot drinks you should have the choice of using a kettle on the gas hob, or plugging a normal electric kettle into a socket if you are hooked up to campsite electrics. It’s always worth keeping a sealed tin with your favourite hot drinks and instant soups in the campervan, so you can stop on a whim to enjoy a view, brewing a warming drink in minutes. Dining inside the campervan involves putting up a table - usually either a pedestal table with a table top that fits onto one chunky leg that screws into a socket in the floor, or a rail table, which is a table top supported by a rail on the side of the kitchen worktops and a pull-out leg on the other side. If you have bought a driveaway awning or a canopy/cassette awning to go with your campervan, you may decide to take a camping table and chairs, so that you can set it all up on a campsite pitch and invite friends to join you for a meal in the awning. When you want to go out for the day, you can leave the driveaway awning behind, with your table and chairs set up invitingly, for later, also reserving your pitch!

There are two types of water system; one has a tank fixed in the vehicle, similar to a petrol tank, which you can fill through a cap, using a hose pipe. The other 58