Newsletter Oct 2024
Steve & Jaye on their Balkans Odyssey
Welcome to our first RP Leisure Group newsletter. As our business and customers continue to grow and evolve, we feel now is the time to start a regular correspondence through which we can share more of the RP journey with you.
It’s hard to believe that this all started ten years ago when we built our very first van on the drive at home. We never imagined it would quite reach this point. Fast forward to 2024 and we have built over a hundred vehicles for a wide range of customers, each eager to see the world in your own way, united by a desire for quality and a brand that you can trust implicitly.
It’s not always been the easiest of journeys, especially not in the early days, but the greatest vindication that we are moving along the right track came earlier this year when we were awarded Great Britain Small Series Type Approval. This means that we are fully recognised vehicle manufacturers, and the only one in the UK building on Mercedes AWD vehicles, giving our customers total confidence that we will continue to build vehicles of the highest quality to match your adventure needs.
On that note it was a real joy to head out to Montenegro recently and join up with our first RP Adventures trip, aptly named ‘The Balkans Odyssey’ to not only see our vehicles ‘in the wild’ but create some special memories with the owners who were part of this fantastic adventure. Stay tuned across our social channels for some exciting news for upcoming trips in 2025.
Finally, we have taken the decision not to be at the Caravan and Motorhome Show at the NEC this month, opting instead to focus all of our resources on progressing and finishing the exciting developments we have in-store for next year. We will be back in February though, ready to showcase what we are working on, so be sure to stop by.
For now all that’s left to say is thank you to each and every one of you for being a part of the first ten years of what has now become RP Leisure Group. We look forward to the next chapter together.
Steve & Jaye Young
A Balkans Odyssey
The sun slowly emerges from behind the vast face of rock that forms one side of the imperious canyon that we find ourselves in. With it comes a welcome warmth, the hitherto frigid morning air gradually rising in temperature as the sun ascends ever higher towards what will be its eventual zenith in the brilliant blue sky.
From below comes the perpetual roll and rumble of the river, whose waters have, over countless years, carved out Tara Canyon, Europe’s deepest at over 1300 metres in some places. With the emerging sun comes signs of life on our campsite, built over two levels on what land there is to be found here at the bottom of the canyon, as soft chatter and the alluring aroma of freshly brewed coffee begins to fill the air.
We are in Montenegro, although only just as here the river marks the border with neighbouring Bosnia & Herzegovina, on the edge of Durmitor National Park, a region whose natural beauty is quick to win not just my heart, but those of my travelling companions too. The most impressive views of the canyon are from above, where one can see the turquoise waters of the river snaking their way through a green oasis of thickly wooded precipitous cliffs, home to rare, primaeval black pine forests.
The beauty of the landscape is reason enough to venture to this remote corner of a country that is, by modern standards, relatively undeveloped, with great swathes of land as nature intended them to be. Although, as we will discover with some delight in the coming days, there is far more to Durmitor National Park than its imperious canyon. But for now the focus is on the river, where we will spend the morning rafting.
At this time of year, it’s mid-September, the rapids are not particularly violent, graded as level two plus, and so over the course of the fourteen kilometres there are periods where we can relax, paddle gently and admire the canyon from a different perspective. Autumn’s gentle hand has already begun to touch the landscape, little pockets of rusty brown shrubs and trees with teardrop leaves the colour of caramel contrast with the verdant greens of the forest we float alongside.
‘All paddle’ comes the urgent command from Jacko, our vigilant guide. Ahead the river froths and erupts in plumes of white, a thunderous roar filling the air. We set to our task, carrying the raft quickly towards the start of the rapids before we are swept into them tossed this way and that. The front of the raft rises up, the horizon suddenly filled with the calm blue of the sky before slamming back down again, cold water showering those sat at the front, much to the delight of those further back.
The great contrast of Durmitor comes the following day as we head up from the canyon and take the thin ribbon of road that meanders through the heart of the mountains. The road gradually rises, picking its way up and through great slabs of rock long since jettisoned from the mountains that tower over us on either side, until without warning it arrives at a point where we are forced to stop. Not because the road is blocked, but because the sheer scale and brilliance of the mountains requires it of us.
We stand lost in reverence, for the landscape we find ourselves in is surrounded by mountains that appear to have violently wrestled themselves free from the depths of earth, jutting high into the sky. We will travel no further, instead opting to wild camp in the bosom of the mountains, the spell of Durmitor well and truly cast upon us. Night brings yet more magic, an ink-black sky carpeted with stars, wisps of the Milky Way and the crackle of our campfire providing the perfect end to a day few will ever forget.
To watch more about what we got up to click the button below.
Meet the Owners
It was Hans Christian Anderson who once said that ‘to travel is to live’. Words that RP owners Peter and Jane Reynolds are the very epitome of in their retirement, seeking out a life full of travel and meaningful moments in their Rebellion 2 AWD.
Having dedicated many years of their lives to work, in which they built and ran a highly successful green grocery business, they are now making up for lost time, fully embracing what it means to live a life full of meaningful moments together on the road. Only they’re in no great hurry, their travels through Europe are very much at their own pace and firmly eschewing toll roads.
“You miss so much when you’re on the toll roads, all these lovely little villages and places that otherwise go by in a blur,” Jane says. Places where they continue to meet all manner of colourful characters, experiencing authentic moments that add so much richness and depth to their adventures.
“Travel has been a revelation to me,” she adds. “I had only been to France once and on a walking holiday in Spain, so I hadn’t travelled much before getting the van. I can’t believe we’ve now been to all these different places, countries like Italy, Montenegro, Bosnia and Slovenia. It’s been such fun, and we always have a laugh together.”
They have only had their van for a year, but in that time they have packed plenty in, both with UK-based travel where highlights include time spent in the Outer Hebrides, as well as travel through Europe and being on the inaugural RP Adventures trip to the Balkans recently.
“When we bought this van it was to be used,” Peter explains. “That was why we spent the money on it, to be able to see the world. For me it’s about learning, exploration and having fun.”
Had it not been for an online video review of a Rebellion 4 they might not even have discovered RP in the first place. When they had a chance to sell their Auto Sleeper motorhome at an unexpected profit, after months of being unhappy with it, Peter took it upon himself to design the van that he wanted. It was while researching ideas for his van that he discovered RP, and the rest as they say, is history.
“I’d gone as far as designing my own van before I came across the Rebellion 4 review video on YouTube,” Peter says. “We then went to see Steve and Jaye and we just loved the quality of the vans they were producing and, what’s more, that they listened to our needs and requirements and could build us the van we wanted. That was it, we ordered one there and then.”
It’s not always been plain sailing though, with the first months after taking delivery of their van very much a learning curve for them both.
“There’s so much technology in it and we are still learning now,” admits Peter. “If I could give one tip to other owners it would be that you really do need to use your van regularly.” It’s a sentiment that Jane agrees with. “You forget things,” she adds. “So the more you use it the more comfortable you are with how everything works.”
Embracing travel in the way that they have has not only given them memories that they will cherish for many years, but it has forced them to step out of their comfort zone, which, as they admit, isn’t always easy.
“I think I have surprised myself a bit,” confesses Jane. “I was so worried about it (travelling) because when you don’t do something that change can be scary and you think you might not be able to cope. I would tell myself that ‘I can’t do that’ but I keep embracing everything that travelling entails and I find myself really enjoying the little moments, going into foreign shops, trying to speak different languages and meeting new people.”
While travelling for long periods provides a raft of daily highlights and memories, there is one experience above all others that stands out for them. It came on the Balkans Odyssey during the time the trip spent in Montenegro. With most of the group heading white-water rafting on the Tara River, both Peter and Jane opted to head off on an organised photography safari.
“That was a really special day,” Peter says. “Being out in the real countryside, meeting real people, such as Dragan (a local living in Durmitor National Park), seeing real farms and ways of life.” As a lover of photography it gave Peter the time to be at one with nature, with Jane and their beloved sheepdog, Tiny, at his side, tinkering with his cameras trying to capture the moment, one that Jane holds dear in her heart.
“We were so perfectly happy and content in that moment,” she says. “I had a little tear in my eye when we stood there together.”
With an ever growing confidence, both in themselves and their van’s ability to venture further off the beaten track, they are already planning the next chapters in their blossoming travel story, one that will, to Hans Christian Anderson’s words, ensure they continue to live life to the full.
Habitation Checks
If you have had your vehicle for close to a year, then it’s time to get your habitation check booked in.
We have slots available on both Mondays and Thursdays and you can arrange yours by contacting us at info@rpmotorhomes.com
Why is it important to have this done? Well, aside from the fact that it means we can make sure everything is as it should be, including any little adjustments that are needed, it protects your warranty.
All of our vehicles come with a two year warranty. However, in order to ensure the warranty is intact for the second twelve months, you need to have had a habitation check at the end of your first year.
So get in touch with us and book yours today.