Since we’ve had Isobel, we’ve dreamed of taking her to Europe. However, with her old age and rough around the edges vibe, we hesitated when the opportunity kept presenting itself. After an eye-opening and amazing trip to Croatia at the end of May, we decided we couldn’t be scared of a breakdown, or let any other thoughts prevent us from hitting the road. We just needed to go. This is the the first leg: road tripping Scotland to England.
The quote from Babe Ruth, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” kept repeating itself in my head… except it was,
“Never let the fear of breaking down keep you from hitting the road.”
So, for our summer holiday, we took a European roadtrip.. taking our little home on wheels across the U.K. border and into Europe. Jay got placed on medical leave from his clinical placement, so our trip started out a few weeks early. After spending some time back in Aberdeen sorting through all things health-related, we hit the road.
That meant we were going to have not three, but five weeks road tripping to and through Europe. Our dream was to get to Norway, but we were open to wherever the road took us and were really looking forward to having five weeks with no real plans.
We hit the road with huge smiles on our faces, and nothing but happiness filling the van!
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Day One | Our First Accident
About three hours into our trip, we got into our first accident in Isobel. This was Jay’s first accident ever, and Heather’s second one, the other being reared ended back in high school. And let us tell you, it was scary!
We were driving down the motorway (highway for you state folk) at 70 mph when the truck next to us came into our lane hitting Heather’s side. This is also the side that our door to get to the back of the van is, as well as our window. We were so worried there would be major damage to the window/door…but, Jay handled the van like a champ, and praise the Lord the other driver noticed rather quickly that he was colliding with us, and pulled the other way.
We pulled to the side of the road to check the damage. Unbelievably, there was only the smallest scratch on the passenger door of Isobel and a few dings on our mirror. The other driver was just as shaken up as we were, but we were both so thankful that nothing worse happened. He kept saying he could have killed us, and we kept thinking, yes that or ruined our home!
It’s a scary thing having your entire home on wheels. We had a little reality check of what could happen to our home on this trip, but again, knew we had to go. We knew the Lord was with us and had blessings lined up for our time on the road. Especially after that accident, as the only explanation for that accident not being worse is that the Lord was with us. Think about it… No other cars were involved and both us and the driver drove away with no problem, with only the slightest scratches on the van. Only God.
After calming down from an accident that could have left us homeless, or worse, we got back on the road and drove to Gretna, Scotland. It’s the last town before crossing the border into England, so we knew we wanted to stay there, as this would be our last chance to camp for free without breaking any laws!
Traveler’s Tip.. Just through the town of Gretna, there’s a single track road leading to the river. The parking lot isn’t the biggest with only a few flat spots, but it’s a great place to spend the night! It’s literally right on the Scottish/English border, so it makes for the perfect stopping place before jumping into England where wild camping is hard to come by.
We found a little place on the water on our trusted map app, and were pleasantly surprised to find that this was more than just a parking area on the river. It was a place where the locals go and practice traditional fishing techniques, unlike anything we’ve seen before.
The fishermen took their boats out and started getting out of their boats in the middle of the river. Before we knew it, they were standing five abreast with homemade nets between each of them – literally in the middle of the flowing water. We were so intrigued by what they were doing.
After getting in the water, they each held their ground. Then, cohesively maneuvered their way through the water in search of fish. Before they went out, we told them if they caught us fish we’d share our whisky with them, but unfortunately, they came back empty-handed.
Once the fishermen came to shore, and we were wrapping up our dinner, we began hearing cows mooing – and they sounded really close. We looked out all the windows and couldn’t find any cows around until we glanced at the water and found cows forging the river! This place was crazy.
Men standing in the middle of the river, and now cows doing the same thing?! There was an entire herd of them making their way across the river stomping around. It was the absolute strangest thing to witness!
We ended the evening snuggled up tight in Isobel thanking the Lord for keeping us safe that day and pinching ourselves that this was our real life.
Day one of getting to start of our European Road Trip was definitely nothing short of interesting and wild.
Traveler’s Tip.. Gretna is a really cute little town in the very south of Scotland. There’s an outlet mall, a hotel serving great traditional Scottish pub food (try the haggis, neeps, and tatties or the lasagna.. both so good) and access to the river that’s actually the Scotland/England border.
Day Two | London, Why Not?!
We woke up in the morning with plans of making it all the way to France, but after looking at the map (yes, literally for the first time the morning of) and realizing the route took us just outside London we decided to check if our friends wanted to meet up for dinner on our way through.
Flick and Luke, being the adventurous souls that they are, were up for a last minute meet up… even with having work bright and early the next morning. Visiting the two of them is always a breath of fresh air. They have the same ideas and mindsets we do on life, and are always up for an adventure. Travel stories never die with us, and we were so, so happy to spend time with them.
We stayed up till the wee hours of the morning, talking over all things life, showed them our little home, daydreamed of traveling together again in some foreign country, and called it a night much later than we should have.
We eventually found a janky spot to park for the night (wild camping isn’t legal in England) wrapping up day two of our European road trip… though still not actually in Europe.
Traveler’s Tip… Prepare ahead of time for a place to park in England. “Wild Camping” is technically illegal in England, and we found it quite difficult to find places to park. Laybys are limited, and at the “rest/service areas,” you have to pay to park if staying for over two hours. Check out this park4night app to find places other travelers have overnight parked.
More On The United Kingdom
Dover | White Cliffs and The Best English Scones Around | Check out the next part of our journey here
Hidden Gems In London | Our Favorite Secret Spots In London
Scotland Travel Advice | Compiled After 2.5 Years Living In Scotland
