Welcome to the Kite Wagon!

This blog is specifically set up to track the progress of a major work of transformation - the metamophosis of an ex-Rentokil van to a unique motorhome! Here she is, four days after purchase and parked in a friend's yard, just as she was when I bought her except for the magnetic adverts stuck on the front doors.

Right now she's about to set off on her first long-distance trip - Hereford to York, then up to Glasgow, Tarbert, Fort William, Inchnadamph, Durness and on across the top of Scotland to Forsinard, then John o'Groats and onto the ferry for Orkney. Once in Orkey, we'll be touring South Ronaldsay, Mainland and Hoy before taking the ferry back to Scrabster and heading down the east coast of Scotland, pausing in the Cairngorms before washing up in Aberdeenshire. Right now the interior arrangements are very rough - more camping in a van than a motorhome! - but in due course the interior will be done over into permanent living space for myself and my dogs.

View forward from the back into the cab - lots of space for 2 but the real bonus is the instant access into the rear to get at a cup of tea without having to step out into the rain!

Storage of the stuff we're lugging with us - spare fuel cans in red on the left, water in the green can, food and cooking equipment in the two clear boxes, the luggable loo stored in the wooden box on the right and various oddments in the crate on top of it for good measure! At the moment everything has to be bungee'd to the side of the van for security in transit - in due course there will be cupboards and lockers.

The cooker - for now, a very portable 2-burner gas stove but in due course, this will be incorporated into a proper worktop unit and a wood-burning stove will provide heating in cold months.

View of the rear doors and current sleeping arrangements - four-season sleeping bags laid on sheepskins on top of closed-cell sleeping mats on an Aberdeen Angus cowhide, laid in turn on carpet tiles. All in the name of insulation! Tons of headroom inside - I'm 5'2" and can just touch the ceiling without going on tiptoe!

More photos and reports from around the country as we trek, and in due course there will be details of how the conversion progresses. Keep watching!