BY JO GIFFORD
Photography: Airstream Europe
The infamous Airstream trailers, icons of über cool and synonymous with free-spirited living, have found their spiritual European home just west of Toulouse. Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenées, where glorious weather and mountain views make the perfect backdrop for the ultimate unplug, BelRepayre Airstream & Retro Trailer Park is a one-off in cool camping.
The aluminium RVs (recreational vehicles) were the brainchild of American entrepreneur Wally Byam, and have been manufactured and loved for over 75 years. After surviving the 1930s depression, Airstream went on to establish production in Ohio, where they’re still being made.
When Byam himself led travellers of the 1950s around the world, snapping unprecedented images of international trailer glamour, the classic vans became globally associated with adventure and freedom. Built with the traveller in mind, using superior engineering technology, these distinctive American icons have become a symbol of wanderlust.
BelRepayre is the first vintage trailer park in the world and was established in 2003 when Irish owner, Perry (himself a resident of an Airstream van for some 20 years) and his French partner, Coline, set out to create the ideal haven for vintage-RV lovers.
What sparked their passion? “Airstream trailers are intelligent, funky caravans,” Perry says, by way of explanation. “There’s a sense of cocooning, a womb-like safety about them that I love.”
Perry and Coline see to everything themselves, including kitting out the customised vans. They gladly swapped their previous careers as circus performers (did you expect normal jobs from people who thought up this concept?) to care for trailer lovers in this pretty pocket of France.
Visitors can bring their own vintage trailers (anything at least 25 years old) or hire an Airstream to be ready and waiting on arrival, with trailers from the 50s, 60s and 70s taking centre stage. Some are completely original, while others have been lovingly refurbished with bespoke themes, from the funkadelic Studio 54 to the Starship, which oozes 1972 floral mania.
All the Airstreams here plunge the retro reveller feet first by the flares into a vortex of vintage, even down to retaining the audio device (whether eight-track, cassettes or records), with music of their year of manufacture available to play inside, so you can truly switch off from the present and wallow in the glory days.
The season runs from April to September, during which drinks and food can be enjoyed with ubiquitous vintage styling in the modified Airstream Apollo lounge bar, or relax in the newly acquired Canadian cedar-wood hot tub or have a massage in the Mongolian yurt. If even that sounds too strenuous, then a bit of stargazing and BBQ appreciation is always a good alternative to while away the summer evenings. And for dedicated Airstream lovers, the site plays host to the 4th European Airstream Meeting 2009 from 31 July – 2 August, where you can camp it up with like-minded RVers for a groovy weekend of disco and cocktails.
What do the punters think? A unanimous thumbs up is the answer, with words like “magical”, “perfect” and “truly fantastic” flying around to describe the retro French adventure.
Andrew Toft and Graham Fulton, from Glasgow, are sampling as many unusual stopping-off places as they can find in their tour of France and Spain, and have come for a night. “We’re just looking for different things – we stayed in a teepee at one campsite,” says Andrew, 30. “The novelty of these Airstreams appealed. I didn’t have any knowledge of them before. They’re very retro, very vintage. They’re unique. Our van has a cool, relaxed atmosphere. Older people might like them because they hark back to their era, but we just like them because they’re different.”
“Staying here brings you close to nature,” says Perry. “The local area is unspoilt and there’s plenty to see in the region of Cathare.” Indeed there is. Toulouse is less than an hour away, the local towns of Carcassonne and Castelnaudary offer plenty of tourist attractions and Mirepoix, where you’ll find BelRepyre, is a delightful medieval village.
So, if you’re loving the styling of the last century and want to take some time out in retro paradise, this is the place to come. You can pop along for a Saturday night old school extravaganza with live band and BBQ, or hire a slice of history for a few nights to escape in historic heaven. Once you spend some time in an Airstream, you just may find yourself hooked.
Airstream trivia
Airstream RVs (recreational vehicles) have made silver screen appearances in films such as Mars Attacks!, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Independence Day, and can be seen in music videos including Radiohead’s Street Spirit (Fade Out), Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time and The Eagles’ How Long, cementing the trailers’ place in pop culture iconography.
Famous Airstream aficionados include Matthew McConaughey, who calls his “the canoe”; Brad Pitt, Pamela Anderson, Sean Penn, and Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who pulled one behind a pink pick-up truck in their TV programme The Simple Life.
When Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins returned from their 1969 lunar expedition, they were confined to quarantined quarters in an Airsteam-built van for three weeks, under hermetically sealed conditions.
Collectible and much desired, Airstream RVs are an investment in cool, holding their value and often appreciating in worth over time. Quality, design excellence and iconic image all contribute to the lasting value of an Airstream trailer.
Airstreams have been used for, among other things, artists’ studios, mobile offices, a hair salon, juice bar and a smoking room in Tokyo.
LIFTING THE LID
Prices start at €18 per night for a pitch and €90 per night to hire an Airstream van for your stay (reduced rates available for longer bookings) at BelRepayre Airstream & Retro Trailer Park. Visit www.airstreameurope.com to make a reservation. Mirepoix is less than an hour from Toulouse airport, where car hire is easily available. For information on buying an Airstream, visit www.airstreameurope.co.uk
