Lets bring you up to date

Hello! First of all – what.a.summer!

As soon as April came and we were able to move about again, we didn’t hesitate. Not only was there travelling and catching up to do, there were shows and events galore!

By the time October came around and it was ‘end of the season’, we were in need of a rest and time to decompress. Now though, as we are getting ready for Christmas break, let’s bring you up to date with what we’ve been up to.

Back to Work

Our last post on here was about the Warner Mid-summer Motorhome Show. That was the first event we had been to since we had been based back in Shropshire for work (we need to earn the money to do the travels!).

There were no more long trips planned while Jon was at work with The Motorhome Man. There were, however, still lots of shows on. Jon worked Mon-Fri and at the weekends we either went away or went to the events.

At first it was fine but after a few weeks, it was getting harder to juggle, depending on where the show was in the Country. That and Jon wasn’t getting time to chill out in-between. We would hit the road after work on a Friday and then be heading back on Sunday night ready for work Monday morning.

A choice, not a fad

It may seem dramatic or not the biggest problem in the world but for us, this is not just a hobby or a passing fad, it’s a lifestyle. Yes our goal is to travel and live a life that we choose and not what’s dictated to us. That will always come first. But there is the aspect of being able to meet and connect with others who feel the same and share our interests. What a lot of people forget is that we have met friends on this journey. We simply want to hang out with our friends (regardless of who they are or what presence they have on social media!).

Okay, okay; and I get FOMO.

Of course as budding content creators, this is also an opportunity to learn and work! Sharing our travels, sharing the knowledge we have gained about places, Motorhomes and everything in between is something we enjoy. And for me personally, something I would love to pursue in a professional capacity.

Enter Brucie

Anyhoo, one day I randomly saw a tiny van on a forecourt and said wouldn’t it be great if I had a micro camper of my own. Then I could go to events and you wouldn’t have to rush around after work. I thought Jon would laugh it off but he actually agreed.

Within a week, that seed had gone from being sown to being fully realised. We started looking and then Jon came home one day and said there was a Danbury based T5 on the forecourt. It hadn’t been prepped yet but we should take a look.

At first I thought it was too big, I had imagined something slightly smaller. Once we looked inside though, we realised it was probably ideal. It needed a few bits doing but it had enough of the add-ons I wanted to get started. We would add things like heating and an upgraded battery later.

After some discussion, we agreed our ‘future pot’ that had been reserved for another house wasn’t going to be spent any time soon. We have no desire to buy another house. We did a deal on Brucie the T5 the next day.

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Off and Away!

Brucie needed a little TLC but was useable straight away so I didn’t hesitate. First stop on my solo schedule was the Warner show in Newbury! I surprised even myself by going balls deep and doing a nearby park up on my first night. It was absolutely fine and was the perfect starter weekend.

My next trip was longer – Camp Creator.

This was the first of it’s kind this year. It was a place for creators to get together, hang out and exchange hints, tips and stories. It was actually our 11th wedding anniversary that weekend but Jon came separately in the Motorhome with the girls just for the weekend. The first trail of our new set up had worked perfectly! Jon didn’t have to rush and I could stay on for as long as I wanted/needed to.

That concept came in to play immediately after Camp Creator.

Seize the Day

Not only did we get to see familiar faces at Camp Creator, we met new ones as well. And I had the opportunity to go off on a spontaneous road trip with them. I would never normally do stuff like that but I decided screw it, lets go!

It was only for a couple of days but it was so much fun. I’ve never been to the Wye Valley area before and it was stunning! It was sweltering as well but thankfully a stop at the river was included.

Daan Saaf

The new addition meant I was able to visit ‘home’ as well. It gave me the opportunity to catch up with friends and check on family. We were still experiencing beautiful weather so I got to enjoy the coast at its best which was lovely.

After a lovely week, it was time to get the LBB gang back together! I headed back to Shropshire, ready for all 5 of us to set off to another first time event – the Vanlife Eats Big Picnic.

Fun on the Farm

I love my new solo adventures, and my own little space, but nowhere near as much as I love being in the Motorhome with Jon and the girls. After all, this is the life we chose for a reason.

We headed off to Dummer Down Farm where the show was being held and wasted no time getting stuck in. It was great as we knew plenty of people going but also more new faces. This show was quite different, it was so chilled! It’s going to be great to see how it progresses next year.

Back to Back

Roll on September and we had two big shows back to back. The late summer edition of The International Campervan and Overland Show and The Warner End of Season Show in Lincoln. We have been going to the Warner shows for many years now, we use to go all the time before we got our own Motorhome!

That was a fab couple of weeks. The weather was still really pleasant and we had a few days to ourselves to explore Stratford Upon Avon before the show. Of course this was particularly exciting, not just because of its historic beauty, because we visited the Tudor World Museum! (See the YouTube video here)

Having that time to just stop and wander was amazing and took us straight back to our 2019 adventures. It’s our favourite kind of travel. You see so much more when you take that time. You see the smaller details that show you the bigger picture of a places history. Of its character. That is what really makes travel special for us and why we want to do this for as long as possible.

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Loving Life in Lincoln

We got to do the same in Lincoln before getting to the show. This is one that had been on our list for a while to visit as it has some amazing historic architecture. It also has some original street and road structures in place. Not just Tudor but Roman too! A double whammy that definitely got my juices flowing.

Even better there is a large car park that facilitates Motorhome parking right near the city centre (The Lawn: LN1 3BU). Motorhomes are permitted as long as they only park in one bay but the lawn has spaces that back on to the grass meaning you can hang the back over the grass! This was the ideal spot to explore from. Its so fantastic when places have parking like this. At the time of publishing, up to 4 hours parking was £6, up to 24 hours was £8.80.

Steep-ed in History

Well, Lincoln did NOT disappoint. The excitement levels were still quite high from our trip to historic Stratford but that did not take away from the sheer beauty of Lincoln. We particularly enjoyed how some of the Tudor buildings were literally built on top of the old Roman road!

And we finally experienced the famous, and aptly named, Steep Hill. We saw some guy running up and down it, I was out of breath just watching him!

Ending on a High

The show at Lincoln was brilliant. It was one of the biggest in terms of attendance numbers since Covid and the weather was still glorious. There was also the biggest number of exhibitors in current times so all in all, there was a bit of a buzz. We also got the chance to catch up with companies such as E&P Hydraulics (the company our suspension is made by). It felt great to be chatting to people in the industry again!

After Lincoln, it was back to Shropshire. That was the last show for us. The October NEC show got cancelled and the other events we were due to attend also got cancelled. It probably wasn’t a bad thing as Jon was now solidly back to work and quite frankly, it was time to stop and regroup.

Time to Wind Down

We even took some down time from social media. Whilst it was weird at first, we realised it was also refreshing. We just got on with day to day stuff and focused on ourselves and our well being.

It’s a good time of year to do this as things in general are slower as we transition in to winter. And I hate to say it but changing guidelines to do with the C Word mean that it’s hard to plan much right now.

Waiting Game

We were supposed to be on the Channel Tunnel to France on the 15th of December but postponed it because of possible passport delays. Turns out that was a fab move as at the moment, we are not going anywhere. Even our UK Christmas trip is up in the air due to Jon needing urgent treatment on an infected cyst.

For the time being, you will find us in Shrewsbury. Our Christmas trip certainly won’t be to France and our second destination of Scotland is not looking likely either. We just have to wait and see when Jon is released from daily dressing changes. Then we’ll know if and when we can set off.

One thing is for sure though, there is always something interesting or beautiful to be found no matter where we are. We make the best of any trip because we appreciate that we get to travel like this. We’ve worked our butts off to make this dream happen and now we are forging the path so it can continue. We roll with the punches because as we always say ‘The plan is, there is no plan‘.