So there we were on a cold and wet Christmas morning (2010) prickling with anticipation and wishing we’d not had that last glass of port the night before! Every year since we met, Katie has picked a present from the ‘what have you always wanted’ list…and this year she really pulled it out of the bag – there he was all shiny and grey, sporting the split screen I’d always dreamt of…Barbarossa (and what was to become the ultimate holiday romance). So fast forward several months and we found ourselves in Okehampton standing in front of the magnificent Barbarossa, a 1965 splitty 21 windowed Samba Deluxe. We quickly stowed our gear aboard, memorised every detail of the comprehensive instructions on how to fly this magnificent fellow and then we were off…with Cornwall firmly in our sights. I’d say it took us 24 hours to recover from the shock of the cylinder brakes but when you take a vehicle like this out on the road you disappear into a bygone era…a utopian time where everyone smiles and waves as you trundle down the highways, where everyone stops and talks to you and where 45-50 mph is fast!! It was sheer bliss the rat race forgotten for a week, the wind gently blowing through the open sun roof – it just couldn’t get any better than this. We were lucky with the weather but even if it hadn’t been quite so good it wouldn’t have affected our amazing adventure. We toured all around Cornwall, met some great people and watched the most fantastic sunsets through that beautiful split screen. The only downside of our trip was having to very reluctantly return the keys…however, with tears in our eyes (and yes I am a 6ft, rugby playing bloke) we left our new friend behind with Katie already searching on her I-phone for Barbarossa’s twin brother and a vow to return very soon! Thank you O’Connors campers for making this the holiday of a lifetime.
