About Us
We’re Laurence and Claire — a Kent-based campervan couple from Margate travelling the UK and Europe in our VW campervan with our rescue dog, Trevor.
Exlitore is a UK-based campervan travel blog focused on van life, road trips, campervan parking, and dog-friendly adventures across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Europe. We share practical guides, real-world experience, and honest travel stories to help beginners travel by campervan with confidence.
Exlitore comes from the Latin “from the shore”, which felt right for a journey that began on the Kent coast and now follows wherever the road leads. What started as weekend escapes quickly turned into a way of slowing down, exploring more deeply, and choosing experiences over routines.
This blog is our honest, beginner-friendly campervan travel journal, sharing van-life tips, campervan parking guides, road trips, and dog-friendly adventures across the UK and Ireland.
Why Van Life?
Van life, for us, isn’t about perfection or showing off. It’s about freedom, flexibility, and finding joy in simple moments — sunrise coffees by the sea, long coastal walks, and falling asleep somewhere new.
We chose a VW T5 campervan because it felt practical, reliable, and realistic for how we wanted to travel.
We’re learning as we go, and that’s exactly what this blog reflects.If you’re new to campervan travel, thinking about taking the leap, or just love reading real stories from the road — you’re in the right place.
Meet the Crew
Laurence
Lover of the open road, coastal towns, and documenting journeys as they happen. I love dreaming of new places to venture in our VW T5, writing, and most of the driving while Claire is busy doing something creative (or snoozing!).
Claire
Brings balance, creativity, and an eye for the little details that make places special. She’s also the reason we stop rushing and actually enjoy where we are.
Trevor
Our Romanian rescue dog and full-time travel companion. Trevor has made our travels slower, more thoughtful, and far more dog-friendly. If a place isn’t welcoming to dogs, it probably isn’t for us.
What You’ll Find on Exlitore
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Campervan travel guides across Kent and the UK (and Europe)
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Honest van life tips for beginners
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Dog-friendly beaches, walks, and stays
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Real travel journals from life on the road
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Places we genuinely love (and would return to)
Come Along for the Ride
Exlitore is about travelling at your own pace, staying curious, and starting where you are — even if that’s just one weekend away.
Everything we share is based on places we’ve personally visited and stayed in with our VW T5 and our rescue dog.
Thanks for being here.
Let’s explore.
Start with reading our planning for an exciting road trip to Ireland