Our first night was not what you’re supposed to do. The overwhelming advice is to book a campsite with power to make sure everything’s in working order (the internal stuff runs off a house battery that’s rather easy to run down). Let’s not bother with that, we thought, we’ll manage with the little power we’ve got and get a free camping spot at a lovely looking lakeside we’d found on an app. No offroad driving either, we remembered, as we slowly bounced down the steep little dirt track with just about enough clearance to make it through… But what we found was worth the risk and effort. The last spot in a woodland clearing next to Lake King William, a cold and beautiful area out towards the coast, fringed by the strange remains of tree stumps and flanked by wooded hills. An absolute beauty of a spot. We parked up, got the camp chairs out and sat, cold beers in hand and admired our luck at finding ourselves precisely here. Drizzle later slowly turned to heavy rain, but even that couldn’t dampen our spirits. We cooked supper with the van doors open, in the fresh, if somewhat chilly air. Other camping spots were taken, but the sites here were massive and surrounded by trees. We felt alone and marvellously free in our little woodland space. The first night was cold and got colder still. Our little duvet just about got us through, but it wasn’t great and was made worse by the heavy rain clattering loudly and incessantly on the metal roof. With morning though, the day broke to wonderfully clear skies and a swirling cloud of low-lying mist on the lake, an absolutely magical sight to revive our weariness. The absence of any fridge defrosting told us the battery had held out too, but, alas, the shower was dysfunctional and would not heat up despite our best attempts (a situation that persisted through the whole trip).