One of the best things about campervanning, I think, is the opportunity to take off on a whim – after all, you already have everything you need on board. But sometimes it’s nice to plan something well in advance, which for us was a visit to the annual Twinwood Vintage Festival of Music and Dance, at the former RAF Twinwood in Clapham, Bedfordshire.
We weren’t newbies to this festival: our 2025 visit would be our eighth, following a trip every year from 2013 to 2019. Only Covid put a temporary halt to it and, while the festival has since returned, life for us has got in the way since; so we were excited to again enjoy the incredible atmosphere there.
Twinwood is a great place to take a campervans or motorhomes. It’s an old airfield so there are multiple flat areas to pitch up on, and there are numerous (and enormous) camping fields available, all packed with leisure vehicles.
Not only are there on-site facilities, including lots of hot showers, clean Portaloos, a number of electric hook-up points, fresh water and grey- and black-water disposal points, there’s also a small shop and a coffee/breakfast point.
We had a lovely, flat pitch with a great view of the surrounding countryside. The best portable power station for a campervan can make a real difference to the touring experience, and thanks to the open nature of our location, we were able to set up our 1500W Jackery power station’s solar panels, giving us access to 240V power.
Our Jackery has proved very useful over our time with the Autocruise, given that we often stay off-grid at festivals or on Continental aires (see: our guide to touring Europe in a campervan if you’re thinking of embarking on a Continental getaway).
The ’van also has a compressor fridge, so we’re grateful for the 100W solar panel on the roof – although I’m considering upgrading it, or adding an additional campervan solar panel, next year, to provide more power input when away from a hook-up.
Additional awning space
The festival was also a good opportunity to make use of our drive-away Outwell Parkville 200SA awning, which we got not long after the campervan, but hadn’t really had a chance to use. It took a little while to set up (something I’m sure will speed up over time), and we could have done with a set of steps to help us secure it to the end of the Autocruise’s roll-out awning. However, once it was up it proved an excellent place to spend time, and it acted as a great area to store clothing and other bits of kit, as the best campervan awnings always will.
I’ve also bought the matching carpet for it, which adds a real sense of luxury and comfort, and the matching footprint, which helps keep the underside clean and protected from stones.
The festival was as excellent as we remembered it being. It celebrates music and dance from the 1940s (the event began as the Glenn Miller Festival – RAF Twinwood was where he caught his final, fateful flight in December 1944) through to the 1970s. Most people dress up in vintage or retro clothing, and the atmosphere is one of pure party – it’s a fantastic event, and we were glad we’d decided to return.
The weather also held up – we’ve been to a couple of Twinwood Festivals where it barely stopped raining all weekend, so we were grateful for the sun that kept both our leisure battery and our Jackery charged.
The return of the amber dashboard engine warning light
Less impressive was the return of the Fiat Ducato’s amber dashboard engine warning light, which has made another reappearance. It first lit up during our long tour to Alsace and Switzerland early last summer and, although it’s not constantly lit, it now pops up regularly.
The dealership we bought the ’van from, Somerset Motorhome Centre, has been great – because the vehicle was still (just) in dealer warranty, they supplied a new part, which was fitted for us by a local Fiat Professional workshop.
However, despite much back and forth between dealer and workshop, the issue still isn’t fixed – with the Fiat Professional Workshop eventually saying it simply wasn’t sure what the problem was.
The diagnostic equipment says it is an issue with a NOx sensor, but apparently those are all performing fine. Nothing is wrong with the vehicle’s performance or other emissions either, so the mystery remains – the vehicle is coming up to its MoT and service, so it will be interesting to see the result then.
2017 Autocruise (Swift) Select 144
- Price: (when bought pre-owned in 2025) £47,545
- Mileage: 37,780
- Berths: 4
- Belts: 4
- Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
- Engine: 2.3-litre, 130bhp
- Length: 6.0m
- Width: 2.26m
- Height: 2.72m
- MTPLM: 3300kg
- Payload: 358kg
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