50in50

We had a long weekend and I wanted to go on a mini adventure for H's birthday. He wasn't sure but I found an adult only campsite in a small field in a place we are familiar with close to his favourite train place, Grosmont. When I told H we had an adult only campsite he was slightly worried and we both had fleeting, terrifying thoughts of 'one of those places' but all turned out well. It was just a small campsite in a field with tents, campers and one beautiful shepherds hut. We invited H's friend. He's a keen photographer and he liked H's photos from the previous week. It was dry and mainly sunny but we had a storm on the Saturday. An atmospheric, slightly scary storm with a short burst of heavy rain. Clearing to leave cooler  temperature and lighter skies. The area was beautiful, on a working farm. It was only spoilt by some noisy old people. Once you get to a certain age I think two things happen, you need the radio on permanently, radio 2 that is...

We booked a mini adventure, a few days out of work to go exploring in the Camper. Without the dogs. We felt very bad leaving the dogs behind but we wanted to work out the logistics without two big fat labradors to manoeuvre. Wednesday 18 July, we woke up to bright sunshine and blue skies once again. Dogs were shipped off to their favourite Doggy Care Aunty. We packed light and started on our journey. The plan was to go somewhere familiar for the first trip and a comfortable camp site before we embark on the all new. Scarborough East Ayton Caravan and Motorhome site is a good spot, spacious pitches and lots of sky. It's easy drive into the favourite seaside spots too. It was a packed few days. So much fun. We were out all day, walking, most of the day. Seaside, beaches, coastal walks, cute cafes, trains, railway walks, TV film locations and fun. We had to change campsites on the Saturday as the school holidays had started and a number of families turned up with screa...

We are both 50 in the next year. I cannot believe that we are that age. It's a big one. The time has flown by.  All the usual quotes apply. And here we are, we find ourselves on the brink of a new decade. We have in the last ten years become comfortable with who we are and what we like. Mostly. We know where we like to go on holiday, the places we feel comfortable, the food we like, the books we read, the cars we drive, the lifestyle we want. We still have some adventures, marathons, half marathons, triathlons, walking up big hills. Some more frequent than others. But we talked and talked and persuaded each other that for our fiftieth, instead of the big trips we were discussing, we would buy a Campervan and go to new places, do new things and have some mini adventures. It really was one of those moments where you find an argument to convince yourselves to do something financially foolish. And it worked. I spent a week watching You Tube and Van Lifers. All of them so yo...

We picked up the Campervan on Thursday 12 July at 11.30 from Lowdhams. We decided to go by planes, trains and automobiles so we could drive home together. Cute, I know. It meant a 6am start and in reality, no planes but a number of trains. Lowdhams was very busy, the mobile home business must be the one to be in, business was booming, 25 collections that day. Most were white plastic or panel vans with some colour but we had managed to secure the only Wellhouse Van ever to arrive at Lowdhams. All the staff were very good and lovely, despite the sales pitch. Even the guy that was meant to show us how to use the van was lovely but he certainly was not familiar with the Wellhouse. We had the manuals and some good videos made by Wellhouse so we took the keys and drove off into the Peak District. Our first mini adventure in the Van. We debated names, picked a couple and then went with a theme. Charity. We have had a caravan called Hope - named after the owner, and a car named '...