Vantastic summer hols

Answering call of the wild and driving to Bonnie Scotland

- 

IT'S held up as the perfect way to travel for freedom-lovers with the spirit of adventure.

But do camper van holidays live up to the hipster hype?

Celebrities such as Chris Martin, Stacy Solomon, pictured with husband Joe Swash, Coleen Rooney and Carol Vorderman are all fans; while Brad Pitt and Vin Diesel have luxury versions. MICHELLE FLEMING is a convert - and says the spell of fine weather we're enjoying makes it the perfect time to discover Ireland in an RV. Here, she tells of her idyllic holiday in Scotland last summer in her Mercedes Sprinter - and how she'd love to do it again this year.

Instead of airport queues, myself and my brother Marty, nephew Liam and dog Sonny Jim - rolled onto the Stena Line ferry at Belfast Port and headed to Scotland for a camper van adventure.

Many moons ago, I caught the "Van Life" bug, travelling around Australia with my cousin Eimear.

We had so many adventures and met so many characters, including a top Australian Elvis impersonator.

Serendipitously, we met on Elvis' birthday, January 8 after he told us: "I followed you girls from the highway..."

It could have gone very Wolf Creek, but ended up glorious, on the beach, leafing through his Elvis newspaper clippings archive.

It sums up the allure of holidaying in a camper van - being able to go wherever the road takes you.

Near the end of the pandemic, I bought a camper van and decided to head for the hills.

Scotland had been on the itinerary for a while.