It was fast becoming time for my annual trip with my mates to attend the V Festival. After missing last year’s event, I was a little excited about heading back. One thing I was not looking forward to, though, was camping.

Fortunately after mentioning this to my former colleagues at Practical Motorhome, they suggested that I take the magazine’s Auto-Sleeper Broadway EK long-term test ’van, which I jumped at the chance of using.

Having borrowed a Marquis Lifestyle 664 last time, I knew the motorcaravanning ropes, so it didn’t take me long to get used to driving the Auto-Sleeper, which was a far more upmarket proposition! The driving position was comfortable, with easy controls, and I soon got used to being higher up than in my car. 

Most of the journey to Essex was on the M25 and the Broadway EK handled the journey well, especially as there was a lot of traffic on the way up. There was a bit of noise coming from the habitation area, but it was full of weekend kit for three, so with some music and conversation it slowly became something we didn’t notice.

We eventually arrived at our home for the V Festival, a big field with lots of other motorhomes. We found the other members of our party and set up our living quarters for the weekend.

It was surprisingly easy to slot the motorhome into its allocated space. The reversing camera really helped when trying to position it amongst the other parked ’vans (it also made easy work of tucking the motorhome into the parking space outside my house when I got home after the weekend – I was very surprised how easily I managed to park it!). 

The Auto-Sleeper Broadway EK is very spacious inside. Having the fixed bed over the cabin made it feel very roomy, especially with the amount of clobber I brought for a weekend trip away.

There were lots of really handy cupboards and storage spaces to hide things in, giving us plenty of room to relax, eat and drink before the festival started. In fact, it handled five of us, as we sheltered in comfort from the wind and rain.

We also found that having the kitchen located at the rear of the ’van created a spacious feel. The only downside was the bin placement – having it on the habitation door did mean that every time anyone entered or exited the motorhome, they tended to knock it off. 

Three of us stayed in the Broadway over the weekend. Before we left home, one of us (not me!) had called shotgun on the double bed. We decided to use the lounge seats as two single beds and they were very comfortable. Not being a short person, I was worried that the singles would be too short and narrow, but I was pleasantly surprised how much room there was.

After a good night’s sleep we woke ready for a full day of enjoying lots of music and dancing. Before we headed off we made sure we had fully charged phones by using the Auto-Sleeper’s USB ports, and tucked into a full English breakfast. 

One of the perks of not being in a tent means you have access to a proper cooker. Another great benefit of not being in a tent at a festival is when you head back in the evening after a fun day you can sleep in something which is warm, secure and considerably a lot better than canvas at shutting out music from other revellers’ parties. 

Overall, the Auto-Sleeper Broadway EK was an ideal home-from-home for our weekend and it allowed us to festival in style. I was very happy to be heading back each evening to our cosy little companion. I became very attached to ‘her’ and was a little upset having to hand her back for her next adventure. Thanks to the Practical Motorhome team for coming to my rescue and allowing me to festival in comfort and luxury.