The last 20mths we’ve been roaming the uk… we’ve had some epic adventures - it’s somewhere we’ve wanted to explore for a while 👍
We’ve had our 7.5t land yacht 17mths now - the usual for us swapping the vans out seems to be a pretty consistent 2yrs… we’ll see if we keep this one longer or not 😜
It’s been a WHOLE year since our last cost run down - so we reckon it’s time for an update!… sharing some info + stats from our experience with you all... how much we spend + what our life full time on the road looks like IN THE UK 🇬🇧 🏔 🌲 ☀️ ❄️ 🥂 🌊
First we want to say, as always, this is a real personal thing... everyone is different + this is so true when it comes to spending the dosh 🤑
Our aim is to spend time together as a family doing what we love.... exploring new places + soaking it up along the way… making those memories!
ℹ️ remember this is 20 months in the UK only - grab more info on europe, in our previous post right here.
🚍 Distance travelled: 10,286 miles or 16,457 km
💰 Coins spent on diesel... averaging £1.60 per litre: £4,321.11 - also used (VERY small amount) for cooking & heating in Sprinter, plus heating + hot water in the big rig ☕️
🛣 Tolls: £3.90
🛠 Vehicle maintenance costs: £4,140.72 🤯 … changing vans is always hefty for us - new tyres, heater overhaul, plus an unlucky turbo breakdown… yet getting our hands dirty has saved us heaps!
🚐 Vehicle insurance: £1,438
🏕 Campgrounds: £5,500
🛒 GROCERIES averaging £122 a week for a family of 4 humans, 2 dogs + 1 cat....
we try to buy small + local or we use Lidl where we can 👍
🗺 Where do we STAY??
51% campgrounds 45% free park-ups/motorhome stops 4% private land - farm sitting.
England is a LOT tougher for finding those suitable spots to just park up, than most other countries we’ve travelled…. plus with fuel prices right now, it’s COSTING LESS coins to stay put on a simple cheapy campground, than keep racking up those miles - slow travel is the way forward!
Since pulling onto campgrounds a little more, we’re getting SO much more out of our stops…. making a great base to explore the local area with the van safe on site 💯
🤩 Fav PLACES UK:
Kate - Blairmore Farm**, Dunwich Heath, Seaham, Tintagel, Forest of Dean, Ullapool, Ben Nevis ✨
Martin - Blairmore Farm **, Seaham, Forest of Dean, Stone Henge The Drove, New Forest 👌
Shannon - Blairmore Farm **, Forest of Dean, Ben Nevis, The Kelpies 😀
Phoebe - Blairmore Farm **, Forest of Dean, New Forest, The Kelpies 🤘
** Blairmore Farm was our home on one of our farm sits - sometimes a place finds its way into our hearts!
BEST parkups:
free - The Drove, Stonehenge 🪨
cheap -Whitemead Forest Park in WINTER ❄️
💰 How we CONTINUE our lifestyle:
Things have changed a fair bit since we first set off… after nearly 5yrs of travel we’re brand ambassadors for amazing products we love, have written articles for magazines, provide photography, started creating videos…. PLUS hand make one off pieces of jewellery inspired by our travels, help others create their lifestyle change/trip of a lifetime, manage farms in owner’s absence + have a stock market portfolio….
WOW!! written down that sounds a lot hey!…. and you know what it is HARD WORK - it’s also a LOT of what we love + FUN, plus we get to do all this whilst living this adventure as a family!
We’re also still taking engineering contracts - this is the one we’ve been keen to move away from as it’s time that separates our family and means martin working in factories 😣
Day to day living, we keep things simple + make our money last as long as possible, whilst living life + making the most of where we are!
📌 What we’ve LEARNT:
If you want to take time out to follow your dreams, GO FOR IT!!…do that thing now, humans were not made to just work and pay bills!… don’t wait until retirement, LIFE IS SHORT + we’re not all guaranteed to get this!
The nomadic lifestyle has been SO beneficial to all of us, beyond measure.... it’s changed us all in a BIG way, slowed us down + we really appreciate the simple things in life.
Sure it can be tough + there are hard times... with different challenges than other lifestyles - we wouldn’t change it + LOVE living this adventure together!
Our #1 TIP:
Slow down, really, slower than that!… enjoy each other + don’t sweat the small stuff 💯
We’ve loads of adventures ahead of us + we’ll be bringing you stacks of tips + info - don’t be afraid to ask, let us know what we can help with…. our travels are ongoing for who knows how long, so keep watching & ask us any questions you like!
👉 You can also find us on YouTube, Instagram + on our website… come join the tribe…
Thanks for sharing our journey with us - you really are a bunch of legends 💯
Cheers + love always - martin & kate 🤙
Comments