Getting ready

Preparation continues, and we are now well on the way.

We have a tenant for the house, who moves in on 4 January..
So we have now booked our first site, 5 days in the Cotswolds should get us off to a great start!
There is now a new map at the bottom of the blog which we will be putting pins in as we go, so we'll be able to keep track of our travels.

One of the main thing people have been asking us is where are we going and do we have a plan?
The answer is we don't know where we're going and we don't have a plan! All we know is we're going south first and making our way steadily up north booking our next site as the fancy takes us.
It's all getting a bit exciting now!

Getting there..

2 months to go!
Or around 25 working days! The house is now on with a letting agent, and the rooms are starting to geta bit more sparse. We're really surprised with the amount of stuff you can fit in a loft. I've been up and down there like a jack in the box and it seems to be absorbing all our stuff!

We went away in the van at the start of November for Linda's birthday to the Peak District, just for a long weekend.

On the first day (after a horrible drive through Stoke) we explored thewonderful village of Castleton, with its numerous pubs and a large cave locally referred to as the Devils Arse! On our way back to the van that evening we were unfortunate enough to see the aftermath of an accident where a pedestrian was hit by a car. Not pleasant.

Next day we went for a walk up the peaks in the driving wind and rain. A few real ales were required that evening to lift our spirits.

Monday was Linda's birthday, and after champagne and presents in the morning we went to Derwent Water where we were lucky enough to see a hercules flying down the valley in true dambusters style.

Tuesday was time to come home, but we just had to go for a quick walk up Mam Tor before we left (as the weather was so nice). Just as we got to thetop the wind turned to a gale and the hailstones started falling so hard itwas painful. We decided to abandon the lovely view (!) and run for the car. Once we got there the sun came out again and the view cleared! Someone was trying to tell us something. One advantage of this was that while drying off outside the car we were passed (twice) by the Top Gear crew filming James May doing a road test! I don't think we'll make the final cut though, as Linda was too busy jumping around waving!

Sell, sell, sell!

3 month to go!

Since having the confirmation from work that we are allowed to go on this crazy trip we've been able to set the ball rolling and start getting everything prepared..

We've been busy packing bits and bobs off up into the loft, selling stuff we don't need and generally having a clear out, and it doesn't feel like we've made any progress!

But we have sold both our motorbikes and my Honda car, so at least now we only have one vehicle in the household (I fear some car disputes coming on!) we were selling that much stuff on the work noticeboard I felt like Del-boy.

Anyone wanna buy a car stereo?

What's this all about?

3 years ago you wouldn't have got me near a caravan. "Devil boxes they are, slowing down the traffic and making me late". Then I met Linda and was introduced to the world of folding campers. Many a good time was had in our Conway Tardis, but I was all for a touch more comfort. We upgraded to our first caravan, an old Compass Rallye which we bought from our good friends Jude and Steve. I'd been well and truly bitten by the bug, and a year later I found myself pushing for an upgrade. We bought our Stirling Eccles early in 2009 and have been away in it for short breaks every month since..

In July we went on a two week holiday around the north of England. Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland National Park, Keilder Water and the Lake District were all visited.

We had such a great time we've decided to have a year off and do it again!

We both work in local government, so are lucky enough to have an employer that allows this sort of thing. Last month we nervously approached our boss with a letter requesting a 1 year career break, and a couple of weeks ago it was approved!

We start our career break on 1 January 2010 and will be travelling England and Scotland for the year, seeing all the sorts of things you see on the BBC's Coast and Countryfile.

We'll be taking our two dogs and our mountain bikes and having a jolly good time.

I hope to be updating this blog as often as I can during the trip.