A day in the lockdown life of Online Content Editor, Chloë Holland

With many of the staff at Warners Group Publications working hard to bring a bit of motorhoming, campervanning and caravanning joy to your lives during lockdown, we thought it was about time we got up-close-and-personal with our editorial team and designers to share with our readers what it takes to put your favourite magazines together whilst working from home...

About me

I'm Chloë, one of the two Online Content Editors working across MMM, What Motorhome, Campervan, Caravan and Camping magazines. I'm the main person behind our social media accounts and many of the news stories and features you read here on outandaboutlive.co.uk

I've worked for these mags, on and off, since the age of 19 (11 years ago, ahem!) with a six-year gap in the middle, in which I ventured elsewhere to flex my magazine editor skills and also had my two boys.

My lockdown diary

I wake up between 5-6am — my days start early thanks to both my three-year-old and 16-month-old having zero concept of an acceptable time to start the day, but at least I get a good few cups of coffee in before my working day starts! By 9am, I’m sat at my makeshift desk in the living room, while my husband takes over childcare. He's a self-employed joiner so, thankfully, can work his hours around mine whilst I'm working from home without childcare.

I start by checking our social media channels and saying hello to colleagues via online messenger, replying to emails and writing down my tasks for the day ahead, which can be anything from putting together special digital issues, to scheduling social media posts and writing news stories. No day is the same – that’s probably my favourite part of working in magazine publishing.

The evenings are always a mad rush but once the kids are in bed and calm is restored, one of us will walk our rescue Staffie-cross, Peppa. Then it's time to Netflix binge with a chocolate share bag or, if it's nice, I'll read a book in the garden. We're really lucky to live on a street surrounded by rolling fields, and I couldn't be more thankful for all that surrounding space during lockdown.

My top tip for surviving lockdown

Do whatever it is you need to do to survive lockdown – whether it’s morning yoga, reading magazines and drinking tea, tinkering with your 'van, or doing absolutely nothing at all. It’s not forever so don’t put any pressure on yourself to achieve anything during lockdown – maybe this is the world’s way of saying we all need to take a break and re-evaluate what is actually important in our lives.

Also, if you’re able, try and go for a daily walk. Staying inside all day is hard, especially with young children.

My earliest motorhome/caravan memory

My grandparents had a caravan when I was small. They’d holiday in Lancashire when I was a child and some of my earliest memories involve scaling the cliffs (though in reality, I was so small they were probably just sand dunes!) to get to the beach below. There was something so exciting about the simple things – watching TV and eating a chippy tea in the caravan was just the best!

My top motorhome/caravan tip 

Read up on everything to do with motorhoming or caravanning before you take the plunge and buy a ‘van – our online ‘van reviews are a great resource (and they’re completely free!). There’s a real community behind these hobbies – and our social media channels are a great place to meet, and speak to, like-mind people.

My dream motorhome destination

One of the great things about working for these magazines is reading all of the travel content — even if it does mean I'm adding to my already very lengthy bucket list every month.

For me, though, it’s got to be the classic US road trip. We drove part of the Pacific Coast Highway (from San Francisco to LA) and then across to Vegas, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico in a Mustang for our honeymoon five years ago (a big ol’ bucket list tick right there!).

Now we’ve got two children, the Mustang could be a bit tight, so we’d love to go back and do the same again in a family-friendly RV – or maybe we should head to the East Coast? Or maybe the Canadian Rockies?! 

MMM is the UK's best-selling motorhome magazine, packed with motorhome and campervan reviews, travel and campsite inspiration in the UK and abroad, plus handy technical help and advice. Find out more and subscribe to MMM magazine here.