Achill (pronounced Ack-ill) Island, Irelands biggest island, tethered to the mainland of County Mayo by a single bridge, is almost as westerly as one can get without falling off the country altogether. We drove in from the Mullet Peninsula on Monday afternoon, a lazy, winding route that took us leisurely along the stunning Wild Atlantic… Continue reading Boycotts, Bog Holes and Booleying (or, The Start of the Affair)
Recently, we have both been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with our families. "Going home" always means Mammies house, and whether its in Mayo or Dublin, Mammies house always means noisy kitchens, lots of great food and hours of chatting, catching up long into the night. Its been a lot of fun… Continue reading Thanks for the Tea (Thoughts After 5 Months)
As W.E. (William & Elizabeth) sit on the 11:30pm ferry from Cairnryan, Scotland to Belfast in Northern Ireland, W.E. are reminiscing on our 3 amazing months wildcamping in Wales, England and Scotland, and have broken it all down for you into numbers: -90 sunrises and sunsets -82 different morning views -5000+ miles -2 minor medical… Continue reading 90 Days Across The Irish Sea
Sometimes things inside Dixie, as in life in general, don't go quite as well as we (William and Elizabeth) had planned. Although we do have a comprehensive checklist (and a still-funny-to-us Ryanair-style cabin crew impression) to complete before we "take off", and extra special care is always taken when expected to be on the road… Continue reading The Outer Trial (And the Inner Tribulations)
It gets dark around here at 4 in the afternoon. Dixie is rambling around the East Midlands of England at the speed of a sedated snail. Sunset has replaced sunrise as the best part of our day due to the sharp drop in temperature, it is almost like autumn turned her back on us overnight,… Continue reading Fenland, and keeping dry under water
In 1931, a Czechoslovakian businessman and entrepreneur called Thomas Bata Sr bought 600 acres of undeveloped farm land, just outside the quiet town of East Tilsbury on the northern banks of the Thames Estuary. Far from Zlin, in the now Czech Republic, where his family-owned shoe company headquarters was the first automated factory in… Continue reading Bataville (or, The Shoe Must Go On)
It's been 2 months since Dixie and her 3 giddy passengers first boarded the 2am ferry from Dublin Port to Holyhead, Wales. What was originally supposed to be a quick round trip to York and back, to A) drop the offspring to university, B) test out the engine, and C) test the adquecy of… Continue reading Thoughts after Two Months
There were originally grand plans of updating this blog with every place we stayed, that would be very difficult as we often stay out of telephone and internet signals way, but we do update almost daily on Facebook, if you'd like to "like" and "follow". https://www.facebook.com/TheBackwardsVan/ Thank you to everyone reading our blog and for… Continue reading Follow us on Facebook!
Rolling into a new town / field / site/ situation every day takes a certain amount of planning. We (William & Elizabeth) need to identify an area to park which meets our needs; Dixie prefers a flat surface (no falling out of bed thanks), on public land, a safe, quiet spot preferably not near a… Continue reading Home is where we park it
Part of our decision to move full-time into Dixie (the Backwards Van) was, like a lot of life's decisions, financially based. W.E. (William & Elizabeth) were sick and tired of watching our money disappear from our account; rent, utilities, food and all the day-to-day "necessities" that most people take for granted were really making us… Continue reading On The Road (to financial freedom) : pt 1
the backwards van 