Failure:
“We have always been inspired by travel programs. We retrained as teachers in our 40s and set up a tutoring company in our Silverstone home. It was a step towards freedom, albeit dictated by the school holidays. The lockdown meant we had to move Zoom, that was a lightbulb moment. When we realized that we could give tutoring from anywhere, we started looking for an overland vehicle that would also serve as an office. Our former Land Rover ambulance still had stretchers in the back when we found it. It is now a tiny home and workspace measuring approximately 4.3 x 2.70 m.
“Remodeled by Paul Richardson of CamperHus Conversions in Cannock (camperhus.co.uk), it has a raised roof with marine hatches, a comfortable bed (essential for long-term travel), a shower, toilet, refrigerator, sink, sofa , 270 degree awning and solar panels The front cab can be converted into an office or dog house at night We had our first Airbnb guest in our house on April 13th of this year and we haven’t looked back.
“We started our trip camping at the headquarters of the Veterans in Action charity and took them off-road to Salisbury Plain to see what our vehicle can do. Highlights since then have included stays at Torview Wines, a vineyard in Devon, and the New Forest Cider Orchard, with a magical walk straight into the woods.We found plenty of places to stay through Brit Stops, a guide to pubs, vineyards, farm shops and the like, who offer free overnight accommodation to support their business (britstops.com) In addition to visiting family and friends, we also received accommodation offers from the Land Rover Ladies Facebook page (LR Ladies).
“After traveling across the UK, from Cornwall to Cley next the Sea in north Norfolk, we crossed France armed with a copy of The Most Beautiful Villages of France. The French equivalent of Brit Stop is France Passion (france-passion. com) which lists stops at vineyards and cheese factories. After the summer in France, we return to the UK in September to see our children and grandchildren, visit the Lake District and plan trips for next year. Stands out there a great world ready to explore. “
Gary:
“We love never to know what’s just around the corner. Yesterday we drove along the Gorges du Verdon in Provence, and today I’m sitting with a map in front of me. The great thing about living and working is on the street that you stumble upon sights you wouldn’t expect. A Land Rover is a great conversation starter. We’ve met all sorts of interesting, friendly people.
“Living in a small space in the UK climate in April was more challenging than the August heat in France. It’s a small room, so the work has to be done in a certain order (for example, making the bed means tidying up the kitchen area) You have to be organized and tidy, but we realized how little we actually need: we have inside the sent three boxes of things home for the first week on the way.
“One day we hope to be able to ship the vehicle to Canada, the USA or southern Africa. Our kids aren’t surprised by our wanderlust, but they probably think we’re a little crazy doing it with two big dogs. We are fortunate that the dogs travel well and see it as their home and we can run our business from anywhere.
“Of course we can only give tutoring if the time difference allows and we can guarantee a perfect WiFi signal. We added a top notch WiFi antenna and dongle.
“One of the reasons parents want lessons is because of the connection between individual teachers and students. Lockdown helped us to see that it is entirely possible to carry this over to Zoom. While some parents feel that their children have enough computers, online classes work just like face-to-face classes, providing flexibility for us and convenience for our students, and many parents are grateful for not driving to a teacher’s house at 6 p.m. and have to wait outside for an hour while their kid does the math – they can be anywhere, too.
“We don’t have any firm plans to go back to our old life, but when our grandchildren grow up we want to spend more time around (but with the option to get away).
“My advice to everyone would be to just do it. You can sit down and find a hundred reasons why not, but if you can find a way, do it. For us, it’s about taking hold of life. Events like the Adventure Overland Show is a great inspiration. We also follow a couple named GrizzlyNbear on YouTube who post inspiring video blogs about life in the van. Jits into the Sunset is another favorite – Tania and Adam are an Irish and English couple, both filmmakers who travel Europe and live full time in a rusty 21 year old campervan called Jitters. “
“On our first date we talked about getting a campervan”
Charlie Osman, 28, and Josh Akhtar, 29, both graphic designers, are leaving city life to live, work and travel in a renovated Mercedes Vario 614D that is affectionately known as the “bus”. This summer (sponsored by Columbia Sportswear) they are trying to visit all 15 UK national parks – and sharing their adventures with the 13,000 subscribers who follow their YouTube blog Wandering Home