We commenced our six week tour of the UK and Ireland in the motherland, England. We flew from Norway, landing at Heathrow where our friends Oliver and Natalie picked us up for a weekend in the English country side. We found a picture perfect Bed and Breakfast in a village close to Bath. We spent two nights exploring the area around Bath and Stone Henge; the boys were way more excited about ’the Henge’ than we were. After an amazing weekend catching up with Oliver and Nat we said goodbye and made our way back to London where we spent the next 3 days exploring the city. Our favourite site from this visit would be the Churchill War Rooms which are definitely worth a visit when in London.

We had arranged a campervan for our UK travels so after London we picked up our van named ‘Zenit’, a brand new VW Caddy that was going to be our home and transport for the next six weeks.

 We felt like we had a new found freedom and set off with our dodgy GPS, pelting rain, 5 lane motorways and roundabouts. Having not driven for the last six months it was a tense first few hours. We headed south to our first destination Dover, famous for their castle and white cliffs. We found our first nights camp spot on a field overlooking the coast, it was a great wee spot and a really picturesque village within walking distance. This was our first night where we tried out all our camping equipment and cooked (more like heated) a frozen meal in the pan, our meals definitely improved over the weeks. While in Dover we did the coastal cliff walk where you have an amazing view of the famous cliffs as well as the port where you take the ferry across to France. We were able to see France in the distance as we jagged some good weather. We also stopped off at the Dover Castle on our way out of town which was really great to explore as it had been used as a military base and underground hospital in World War Two so there was lots to see.

From Dover we made our way to Brighton where we were greeted with some classic English weather (rain, wind and cold), not the best day to explore the famous pier but luckily they had a few penny arcade games to keep us warm and dry. We found a place to pull up for the night and the next day made our way into the town centre as the sun was out and we didn’t want to miss the chance to see the classic UK beach town vibe!

As we made our way back to the van we were discussing our next stop with no clear destination in mind we made our way towards Portsmouth stopping off along the way at various villages. After perusing the town of Portsmouth we decided jump on the ferry across to the Isle of Wight not knowing what to expect and no accommodation locked in we made our way onto the ferry. We were arriving quite late and googled a campground for the evening, when we rocked up to say we were a little surprised would be an understatement. There was water slides, a carvery, casino and entertainment, not knowing whether we were in the right place as reception was shut we asked one of the casino security guards who directed us to the back of the park to the ‘touring area’ where we set the van down for the night. After a wonder through the village and fish and chips on the beach we returned to the campground and just had to go and see what the“entertainment” and casino was all about. It was one of the most bizaar places with various acts entertaining the quests in a big hall with a lively bar at the back end. Not quite sure what we were in for we found a table and watched the last few acts perform.  After a bizaar experience at a Brittish holiday park we were back on the road and touring the Island before taking the afternoon ferry back across to the mainland where we continued our journey up to Dartmoor National Park.

Our van was great as we had a little fridge allowing us to pull over wherever and have a bite to eat. We made in to Dartmoor after a long day of driving and found a really great spot to do some (legal) freedom camping within the National Park. The next day we did a hike that had an accompanying App with an audio tour of the walk… definitely such an English experience that provided us with a few laughs along the way as we navigated the route.

While we were hiking we decided on a place to stay for the weekend and knowing we had acquaintances in Bristol we decided to send our friends a message to see if they could accommodate some travellers. So by the end of the hike we had sorted the following few days where we would be staying with Craig and Carl, whom we met in the Philippines.

Craig and Carl were more than welcoming when we arrived late on Saturday evening, many bottles of wine were consumed and so many laughs had throughout the weekend. They provided us with a very comfy bed and an amazing home cooked meal. Thanks again guys, and we hope we can repay the favor one day!

From Bristol we made our way into Cardiff and continued through Wales and Ireland for the next few weeks.

We caught the ferry from Belfast to Liverpool some three weeks later where we continued up the west coast to Scotland. We spent a day exploring Liverpool which we really enjoyed. A highlight would have to be the Beetles museum, worth a look if you find yourself in Liverpool. After some rest and recovery in Liverpool we continued on to the lake district which to be honest we found pretty over-rated and swarming with tourists. We spent the night and then continued north, passing Carlisle and stayed the night in Gretna just across the Scottish Border. We spent three weeks in Scotland before we headed south back to London passing through Newcastle. Newcastle was not what we expected and for a strong historical town it was so modern and buzzing with life, maybe we just caught it on a super sunny day but there were people everywhere. We made our way back to London and said goodbye to Zen and headed back into central London where we spent the next few days regrouping, planning and catching up with friends. It was the perfect place to spend a few days planning our next six months while catching up with Perth friends, China friends and New Zealand Uni friends - Thanks to all for making the effort to catch up it was a blast of a weekend. Now onto Europe….