Well, that’s a bit of a turn up

We’re busy packing the van up for movement again. Yes, we’re off on a trip. No, there’s nothing wrong with our winter pitch – we love it and have been having a wonderful time here. That said, Mr L has been  a little twitchy of late and has been heard to say that he misses the travelling. My response was that I do not miss it at all. I am more than happy to be static. However… off we are. I think that perhaps I shall enjoy a change of view for a while. Glad to know that we shall be coming back here however.

We are returning to Cheltenham to the place where we purchased Hank in the spring. After all these months of uncertainty, Mr L has finally spoken out loud and said that he would prefer something a little smaller for driving about in. There’s a van in that we both quite fancy but we need to be in it and get a feel for the space on offer and, most importantly, test the bed. If all goes well, we have agreed a price for the exchange that means we have lost quite a bit of money but actually end up with cash in our pocket.

I have long thought that Hank offers us more space than we need or are actually using effectively. On the other hand, the potential new van offers very little storage space and we certainly will not be able to fit all that we currently have with us into the new accommodation.

The likely van fails to meet several of the criteria that we originally had but since the referendum, the situation has changed. We no longer believe that we will sell the house and be nomads full-time. We will be more likely to buy a small and very cheap house in order to maintain a Scottish home address. That would then form a base to which we would return on a regular basis and we could exchange clothes, bedding etc on a seasonal basis.

It may not be the van for us and, as with Hank, we may find that we have  not yet made the right choice – in which case we shall swap for another, and another perhaps, until we find exactly the right one for us.

For now the plus points stack up as:

  • better insulation (it’s Canadian-made)
  • so warmer and cheaper to live in
  • smaller and nipper and better suited to wilding, cheaper on the ferries
  • cheaper on the engine fuel, it does more than twice the mpg of Hank
  • no LPG conversion, which means that it can go through the Channel Tunnel. This is major plus.
  • Has a heat pump!

Negatives:

  • no fixed bed
  • being a sofa bed, the brand new electric mattress cover is not going to fit (but if the van is warm enough, we may not need the additional warmth)
  • no freezer (inconvenient but not mission critical)
  • no solar power

We shall set off tomorrow afternoon, only as far as Metal Bridge and then set off on the M6 on Saturday. We shall find a Britstop around half way down and are booked in at Briarfields for Sunday and Monday nights. We shall go to Twigworth on Monday morning and see what transpires. We shall be revisiting the Thai restaurant.

Just off to The Anchor for dinner. More thoughts probably as we travel south.

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