We were both made redundant from work in our 50s (which was a good thing) and had always wanted to travel around Europe initially then further afield, once our flock had fledged. We wanted to stick to the coast of Europe, living in the 5th wheel full time, siting it for a week or more then taking local jaunts out, but found so many interesting cities inland, taking Samson to them was difficult so we often left him parked up on the coast and took “city breaks” inland, staying in hotels.

We did this for over 3 years, travelling as far as Croatia, covering all of Spain, north and south, Portugal, south of France, Italian wine regions, Lake Garda, Venice and round to Trieste before going into Croatia but finding sites that would take a 9.5m trailer was getting harder and harder, arriving on site was more stressful (for the driver) negotiating narrow lanes, stone walls and overhanging trees and we decided to take a break, head back to the UK to sell Samson and head off to India!

India was interesting but stuck there in the Pandemic of 2020 was not fun, too far from family, away from familiarity and so as soon as we could, we headed back to the UK, thinking it may only be for a few weeks or months! Little did we know that by 2021, we would still be UK based so we bought ourselves an easier mode of transport and a smaller home than we were used to, a BMW (convertible for the summer of course) and a newish caravan, with all mod cons we needed.

Life is so much easier when travelling, less “luggage” to worry about, more excitement about the next town/city /area/ beach/ market/ monument to be visited. Life on the continent is easier than in the UK, much less stressful and simpler. The weather in Europe is so much healthier than in the UK, yes you have winter in Spain but its still 20c during the day. Every new day offers a different location and outlook, a new friend, a new taste or new memory. And life is too short to be hanging around doing nothing, unless it involves chilling out ?