A day in the lockdown life of What Motorhome Editor Peter Vaughan

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 Peter — the Editor of What Motorhome, a job I’ve been doing for over 20 years. I’m also the Road Test Editor for MMM, and I’ve been writing for that magazine since the age of 14!

My lockdown diary

At 7am I get up and walk the dog, come back and take my wife breakfast in bed, then try to get the kids up and fed. Into the office (dining room) by 9am and start by greeting my colleagues on Slack and checking through emails. Do any writing early in the day while I’m fresh, see what help colleagues need with proofing, etc, usually in the afternoon.

We have lunch as a family around the kitchen table at about 12:15 and I need a coffee break at 3pm to keep me going (Bahlsen Choco Leibniz biscuits essential, too – a lockdown discovery!). Finish around 5pm for an early tea as Ruben (aged 6) is getting hungry. Then another dog walk and maybe football and frisbee in the garden.

Finally, bath Ruben, and then unwind with a bit of TV (any car show, probably, although Through the Keyhole is popular here) and perhaps an alcohol-free beer (Lowlander is my current favourite).

My top tip for surviving lockdown

Discovering new local foothpaths with the dog. And don’t just look at your ’van longingly through the window – go camping at the weekend on your driveway (the kids have really loved this!).

My earliest motorhome memory

When I was about 12, my dad, who was in the motor trade, came home with a tiny rear-engined (903cc) Fiat Fiesta campervan and suggested we went away for the weekend in it before he put it into the showroom to sell on the Monday. We went to the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Graffham site – and the little Fiat stayed with us for 18 months before we traded up to a secondhand Commer Auto-Sleeper which we drove all the way to the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria in 1980.

My top motorhome tip

Buy a ’van that you enjoy driving and sleep comfortably in — the rest isn’t really as important as going away and having fun.

My dream motorhome trip

I’ve been hugely lucky to have used motorhomes in the USA, Canada, Thailand and even the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe! I’d love to try touring around Iceland in a ’van but really I’m happiest anywhere in France.

What Motorhome magazine has offered expert advice for motorhome buyers since 1986. It features all types of motorhome – from the tiniest campervan to the largest A-class and it prides itself on bringing readers all the latest models first. Click here to find out more and subscribe to What Motorhome magazine.