When I first visited Croyde as a child in the 1980’s, views like this were commonplace, as I continued to visit on family holidays, and later on camping trips with friends throughout the 90’s, VW vans became embedded with me as part of the local environment and encompassed the feel of surf culture within this beautiful picture postcard coastal village. These days they have been for the most part superseded by more modern equivalents, don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with a T4, T5, or T6 but there is definitely something special about an original transporter especially when seen in a coastal location.

On my second trip to Croyde Bay this year I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with my camera, and although the light changed fairly quickly after the first few shots, the look of this 1965 VW van along with the backdrop was so perfect, it had to be photographed. It’s owner Andy was happy for me to capture some photo’s which I have since shared with him…

I have always enjoyed photographing cars and vehicles in general since my early film camera days, and always enjoyed visiting numerous car shows growing up with my parents and brother, such as the British Volkswagen Festival (BVF) in Malvern. My dad worked in the motor trade so driving different vehicles and finding a love for classic cars especially VW’s, Beetles and split screens were instilled in me from a young age. With the lack of car shows and possibilities to see these vehicles over the last year, what with lockdowns and travel restrictions, it was really great to get the opportunity to quickly shoot on the fly some photo’s of this van. One thing it has definitely done is to spark some enthusiasm for me to photograph more vehicles going forward. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I did shooting it.