There is only so much planning one can do in life. Planning means carefully considering and thoughtfully predicting and then preparing for any and all things that might happen in the future....that sounds exhausting to me. Planning a nomadic life like this would be virtually impossible anyway, the very act of making plans seems to… Continue reading Money Makes The Wheels Go Around (Budgeting in the Backwards Van)
Counting our belongings back into Dixie after her cosmetic facelift is a great opportunity to reduce, reevaluate and reorganize our things. I was struck by the volume of soft furnishings we had accumulated and therefore had to remove from the van before we started work, it turns out most of the things we own serve… Continue reading Moving Back In (or, #Vanlife: The Essentials)
What is better than Pancakes on Pancake Tuesday? Vanakes on Vancake Tuesday! But what is even better again is weather mild enough to enjoy cooking outdoors. We were lucky this year, on Sandeel Beach on the Hook Peninsula, County Wexford in February the sun cooperated fully and the day was fresh and bright. William whipped… Continue reading The Unconventional Oven: Easy Campfire Bannock Recipe
We had been taking it easy for a few days, parked up safely outside number 109 in Dublin to catch our breaths, a couple of administration details needed to be ironed out and no better place to hang around than the house I grew up in. Some bureaucracy in life is unavoidable; modern humans need… Continue reading Laying low in Curracloe (or, Saving Private Dixie)
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)
We woke at sunrise in a massive and deserted carpark tucked away up high between the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. Such a great free place to park up, one of our best finds yet, it had stunning views, picnic tables, bins and various signposted routes to follow through the forrest. We walked… Continue reading The Mountains of Mourne (23-01-18)
Stranger: "So how far are you going to take this thing?" Us: "We don't know...... Greece?" Unfortunately for him, W.E. (William and Elizabeth) misunderstood his question. We've had a lot of visitors to Dixie by now, and we have visited a lot of our friends at their houses, sometimes for a few hours and sometimes… Continue reading Living, Not Surviving (or, This Is Not A Test)
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)
the backwards van 