BUCCANEER’S BARRACUDA MODEL first introduced the L-shaped lounge with a space on the wall where you can install a large (for a caravan) TV to the modern brand.

Now that Barracuda has settled in (with a couple of minor tweaks here and there) those designers up in Consett, County Durham no doubt decided it was time to take the idea into new layouts too.

The kitchen contains a large rectangular domestic-style stainless steel sink and a four-burner dual fuel hob complete with equally domestic style pan stands

So step forward the new Buccaneer Bermuda. It has an L-shaped lounge, just like the Barracuda (only facing the other way), a space for a TV, and a central washroom spread across the van. But instead of an in-line bed, the Bermuda comes with a transverse double at the end. Although it still has the same interior length as the Barracuda (6.39m) the extra space that the sideways-on bed gives means you have more interesting things happening in the middle.

Pitch and set up

The benefits of a Buccaneer for towing remain as ever for 2021. You get Al-Ko’s ATC trailer control system and and an AKS3004 stabiliser fitted as standard, as well as an E&P self-levelling system to make life easier when you arrive on site. And you get a 40-litre onboard water tank. You may not even need to wheel your Aquaroll about.

For 2021 Buccaneers have retained their stylish silver sides too.

Lounge

The front lounge is well lit, with a sunroof, a huge stargazer rooflight, ambient lighting

In a way, having an L-shaped settee, where the main part of the L faces people as they come in, seems more sociable than the way the settee is arranged in the Barracuda. From here, you would, for example, be able to keep an eye on anything happening in the awning. 

The front lounge is certainly well lit, with a sunroof, a huge stargazer rooflight, ambient lighting and three spotlights around the “L”. This season’s Shimla upholstery with its peacock tail pattern looks particularly stylish.

This season’s Shimla upholstery, with its peacock tail pattern, looks particularly stylish

The dark finish of the wood, however, is a bit of an issue here. You don’t notice it in the sunlit front lounge, but further back it can make the interior gloomy, especially with this layout.

Further back is where you see the benefits of taking up less space with that transverse bed. There is enough room that Buccaneer have been able to include, at the rear end of the offside part of the settee, a sideboard that also contains the table storage. With five drawers, it is clearly meant to be part of the kitchen, but it is just the right height to work as a place from which to serve your guests drinks – especially as there is a cupboard with drinks’ holders directly above.

The table is an adequate size, and the side part of the settee is so long there is room for long-legged people to stretch their legs out, down the open side of it.

Kitchen

The generous provision of drawers continues into the kitchen proper on the nearside. You will find three large ones under the worktop, plus a large cupboard that contains two useful storage baskets for vegetables. The worktop itself has a large extension, so there is plenty of room to work. It also contains a large rectangular domestic-style stainless steel sink and a four-burner dual fuel hob complete with equally domestic style cast iron pan stands. Up above are four cupboards, one of which includes a crockery rack. There is a small pan locker too, under the separate oven and grill beneath the hob, although it does seem to include a fair amount of wiring.

An Omnivent in the centre of the aisle should keep odours away, and on the other side of the galley, next to the sideboard, you will find a Dometic fridge, although strangely not a Series 10 with its two-way opening door. Above that is a Russell Hobbs microwave, and above that, out of easy reach for some, a small locker.

Washroom

The offside washroom offers pretty much all you need

Like the kitchen work surface, the nearside shower cabinet is another part of the Bermuda that looks more domestic than your average caravan. This is both because of its size, even with part of the wheel arch in here, and because of the tile effect lining. There is a soap dish on the shower riser bar, and a clothes rail you can pull down to dry out damp clothes in here. 

The nearside shower cabinet is another part of the Bermuda that looks more domestic than your average caravan.

The washroom proper on the offside includes a large rectangular salad bowl basin, a well lit mirror, a handy towel rail heated by the Alde system, a tooth mug, and a double cupboard with shelves. It is all well lit and ventilated by a roof light. This is pretty much all you need in a caravan washroom.

Beds

The Bermuda comes with a transverse double bed at the rear of the van

The transverse island bed is a good size, and its headboard area comes with two spotlights and USB sockets for your mobile phone. The whole area is flooded in light from another Stargazer rooflight, so this could be a nice room for a siesta in the afternoon. Because the washroom is in the centre of the van, you wouldn’t need to roll the bed back – although you can.

Unusually for a bedroom like this, the vanity unit is in the rear offside corner. It has a mains socket nearby for a hairdryer, and there is another USB socket.

That leaves the bulkhead in the front offside corner clear for a TV. A second set of TV sockets are included here anyway.

People often complain that L-shaped settees do not make for comfortable double beds. Well, the one you make in the front lounge here, by pulling out a platform, seemed perfectly comfortable to me.

Storage

The novelty (for a British caravan) of having an onboard water tank begins to pale when you consider storage. That tank takes up a good deal of the space between the bed, so although there is external access to this area, the space is not as generous as you might think.

The L-shaped settee also means that the underseat areas in the front lounge aren’t as useful as they could be. Buccaneer has tried to remedy the situation by providing a locker on the nearside, underneath where the TV would go. This is also accessible from outside, but the locker itself is so small you probably couldn’t get much in here beyond a hook-up cable.

At least the Bermuda is blessed with two large wardrobes either side of the bed, and two good size overhead lockers in both the front lounge and the bedroom. There are those five drawers in the sideboard, too.

VERDICT

From the L-shaped settee, you’re able to keep an eye on anything happening in the awning.

It was a good idea to extend the L-shaped settee format into other layouts, and generally speaking the Bermuda works well. It is perhaps a little skimpy on storage because of that design, but it partly makes up for it with a high spec.

TECHNICAL DATA

Price £35,549 (plus £645 delivery) Berths 4 MIRO 1831kg Payload 159kg MTPLM 1990kg Awning size 1090cm

Spec list: ATC AKS3004 stabiliser; E&P self-levelling system; Alde wet heating; Four burner dual fuel hob; 155-litre fridge Separate oven and grill; Omnivent 800MW microwave; External BBQ point; 40-litre onboard water tank 

Interior length: 6.39m; Shipping length: 8.16m; Overall width: 2.45m; Rear double: 1.90m x 1.35m; Front double: 1.96m x 1.40m

You’re in Hall 6 Advice Lounge & Event Theatre at Van Live! See what else is happening on stage, visit the Buccaneer at Erwin Hymer UK stand in Hall 1, or take me to the Show Guide.