Van Love 2026 was the fourth time this event has run, but the first time it has been held at Thruxton Race Circuit rather than Elvington Airfield. Honestly, the new venue suited it brilliantly. Having hundreds of vans parked all the way around an actual race track made for a cracking atmosphere, and I will not lie, whizzing around on the scooters to get from one end to the other was a highlight in itself.
The Vans, the Food, and the Festival Vibe
We arrived on the Thursday and got ourselves set up on the circuit: shade out, egg sandwiches on, life is good. The variety of builds on show was fantastic. There was a lovely Carthago nearby, a proper well-stocked bar setup that I made a mental note to return to, and then there was the fellow converting a Land Rover Freelander into a campervan over the course of the weekend. A convertible camper, he called it, because the hard top comes off completely. Whether he pulled it off, you will have to watch the video to find out.
The one that really stopped us in our tracks, though, was Paul, Vicky, and Grace’s 1981 ex-German Army Mercedes Unimog. The three of them have just finished converting it themselves, and the plan is to drive it from the UK all the way to the Arctic Circle and then back down to South Africa. The layout inside was a rear lounge with a drop-down bed, a solar stove for the proper cold stuff up north, and a folding shower setup that tucks away completely when off-road. It was a genuinely impressive build. We both walked in, felt the air con, and simply stood there for a moment. They had nailed it.
On the food front, I went for a green Thai curry with 50/50 noodles and rice, and some prawn toast. Lyndsay went for a pastrami toastie with halloumi fries, recommended to her by someone called Jelly Legs, who apparently runs the bouncy castles at these festivals. The curry was fantastic, by the way. The prawn toast was not bad either.
Silent Discos, Wine Tasting, and Casino Night
The Saturday afternoon silent disco was brilliant chaos. Liam from Wandering Wheelie was on the decks playing two channels simultaneously, one chosen by the boys and one by the girls. It was hot, there was no shade, and everyone’s ears were sweating into their headphones. The vote at the end declared the boys the winners, despite there visibly being more people on the girls’ side. The adjudicator was clearly well looked after.
In the evening, we headed up to the VIP area for wine tasting with Mark from Van Life Matters, who took us through bottles from all around the world and was not shy about topping everyone up. The prosecco to start was a cracker, followed by a run of reds and whites, and finished off with a dessert wine paired with honeycomb and wasabi peas. That combination sounds wrong, but it genuinely worked. The cheese was good too. As I said to the lads, it tasted of France. High praise.
Then came casino night, sponsored by Soul Bio, where everyone was given 200 Soul Bio pounds to bet with. I did alright on the blackjack early on, less well on the poker, and then Lyndsay and I managed to bet everything back on the roulette and lose the lot. Standard. It was a brilliant evening nonetheless; all the tables were busy and everyone was getting amongst it.
The Podcast, the People, and That Shower Head Question
In between all of this, Lyndsay and I sat down with Motorhome Matt for his podcast, talking about content creation, whether you need to live your life through a lens, and how the whole thing works financially. I will put a link to that below once it is out.
One thing worth returning to from the Saturday morning: we both had showers and the water gauge barely moved, which confirmed something I had suspected since the trip to Europe with Harry. I use almost no water in a shower. Lyndsay, who washed and conditioned her hair, was less impressed with the pressure. Several of you have recommended a shower head upgrade that apparently makes a real difference, especially for rinsing out conditioner. If that was you, please drop it in the comments so I can find it and get it ordered.
Thruxton was a cracking venue for Van Love. The race circuit layout gave the whole thing a proper festival feel, and the combination of great van builds, good food, live music, and a genuinely warm crowd made for a brilliant weekend. If you want to see the full thing, including the Unimog tour, the casino, and Lyndsay’s evening outfit reveal, the video is up now. Give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it, and we will see you on the next one.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjZmx3uiiXU