our storY

Let us take you back in time, it's January 2020, and we've just returned from an unforgettable luxury tour of Vietnam with Audley Travel to celebrate turning 50. Our dream holiday was filled with expertly organized experiences, business class flights, and stays in 5-star hotels. Every moment was seamless and enchanting, leaving us feeling enriched and energized. However, as we returned to the routine of work, house chores, and the mundane, a familiar, deep sense of sadness and doubt about our chosen path through life crept in once again.
 

As we hurtled towards our 50’s, we had started questioning our life's trajectory, yearning for a more liberated existence with quality time for each other and a deep longing to explore, experience and submerse ourselves into a life worth living. We even purchased an old Hymer motorhome with dreams of hitting the road at every opportunity, only to see her sitting untouched in storage due to our demanding schedules.
 

In early February 2020, a shock awaited us as David, working in IT for an investment bank, learned that every contractor had been let go due to whispers of an impending "Chinese flu" outbreak. We reassured ourselves that this would soon pass us by. With savings from a house and business sale, David’s skills normally in high demand and the general thought that COVID was being blown out of all proportion, we felt sure that life would return to normal very soon.  Little did we know, March 2020 would plunge us all into a full lockdown.
 

With no offers of work for David and lockdown lasting for months and months, our plans, like everyone else’s, crumbled. Like many, we turned to decluttering and frugal living.  We spent our days cleaning and sorting and selling everything on eBay and Facebook Market Place. The sun shone, the drinks flowed, the snacks were eaten and truthfully, we began to enjoy a much simpler way of life. We found solace in simple pleasures – walking, talking, and appreciating the serenity of nature.
 

Whilst waiting to move out of a rental property and into the house we were buying, we had our mortgage offer withdrawn like so many other people. Then came June 1st, 2020, when our landlord, affected by the economic downturn, wanted his house back. Another rental property seemed to be our only other choice. Moving costs loomed, exacerbated by landlords demanding a year's rent upfront due to our lack of income. It was the first time we felt the tangible impact of COVID on our lives.

 

June 7th, a day that we will never forget because it's etched in our memories forever more.  We had spent the morning worrying and trying to figure out what on earth we were going to do, we'd had tears, cross words and talked each other down from losing the plot.  Suzy wandered upstairs to take a shower and as the hot water washed away the tears, the answer to our problems became crystal clear.  Running downstairs with excitement, Suzy shared her master plan with David.  The answer was right there, in front of us, we had another home, a home on wheels, a motorhome called Heidi!
 

The idea was thrilling, but as we lay awake that night, fear and excitement battled within us. Could we truly pull this off, not only survive, but thrive in such a tiny space, with so many unknowns. Where would we park? How would we do all the things that we took for granted in a house? Would the law take a dim view of us doing this during lockdown? What would we do if one of us got sick? Would our two dogs be ok living with us in our motorhome?

 

Fuelled by a mix of nerves and exhilaration, we took the plunge into a new chapter of freedom and uncertainty by announcing our decision to our friends, family and Facebook, making it official and us feeling as though we now couldn’t back out through fear or doubt. 
One month later, we had sold pretty much everything, made dozens of trips to the local tip, offloaded numerous bags of odds and ends at the charity shops, loaded a removal van with our most important items and stored them in a garage space. 

 

We cried, laughed, doubted ourselves, laid awake on a rollercoaster of fear and excitement, and spent hours wondering what was to become of us as nomads. Finally, we reached the day that our lives would change forever, the day when we would leave behind our friends, the life that we had built, the wonderful community that we belonged to, and everything that we had come to know and love. 
We handed the keys over to the estate agent, climbed aboard our 7.5 x 2.2 metre, 32 year old, home on wheels and drove away.
 

We can honestly say, that the minute we set off, in our tiny moving home, our pot of savings and nothing more than we could carry, we felt the most liberated, free and happy that we had felt in years. We are now heading towards our 5 year anniversary of alternative living. A lot has happened along the way and we have many stories to share with you. Our life is ever evolving, always challenging but never, ever boring and we wouldn’t change it for the world.