Today I needed to crack on with some work. Being a digital nomad is great, but sometimes you do have to just sit down and plough through work to actually get anywhere. This is fine when everyone is at work day to day, they aren’t there to interrupt or distract. But working for yourself means that unlike them, you can’t just leave the phones and emails at work for a week while you go on holiday. Today I had to get some key things done and needed reliable internet to do this – something the campsite was seriously lacking.
Category: Van
Washout
The van really is very comfortable. Now I’ve spent many nights on a cold tent floor, I can really appreciate the luxury of being able to roll over without getting a damp sleeping bag, or finding my shoes nice and dry instead of wet through next morning from the rain. It’s cost a lot to get my camper up and running, but I guarantee it was worth every penny when a miserable morning like this comes along.
Triathlon Cheers
This morning dawned through a thick grey cloud of drizzle. No one got up early and Aimi and I lazed around in the warmth of the van, surrounded by duvets and a wriggling Kayto vying for affection. It was a really lovely way to wake up and I felt thoroughly contented with my lot.
Into The Lake
Leaving aside the unending battle of the location of the North-South* division line; The Lake District is a REALLY LONG way away from the south of what most people describe as our “tiny island”. So far, in fact, that we decided to make an overnight stop after 3 hours of driving last night, and there was still over 2 hours to go to reach our destination.
Laminate Laying
So today is the day I admit defeat. When I first got the van and started this conversion, I thought carpet would keep it warm underfoot and keep it quiet on the road. Whilst this was true, I did not foresee another, more practical issue… Continue reading Laminate Laying
Camping Becomes Campervanning
One of the main parts of a campervan is the cooking equipment and how much more civilised it is than camping. I’ve managed with the hyper lightweight kit for the last 10 years and quite enjoyed the experience of folding all the little bits of aluminium up into a tiny container and storing them away in my hiking bag or motorbike panniers. These trips fell under the “make do” attitude to travel the only objective was to be out there doing it. Now, a little older, wiser and richer I’d graduated to a campervan and needed to upgrade my cooking equipment to follow. I’m not talking about a full gas range cooker and oven, but something that doesn’t take 20 minutes to assemble before being able to cook would be a nice change.
Monster Drive
Unlike normal people, Stephen is different. He doesn’t often get weekends off work due to his rota. Obviously this sucks, and any weekends he does get off work, get booked up about 6 months in advance. Couple that with how busy I am at weekends and up to this point having had a normal 9-5 job, and it can be about 3-6 months between us seeing each other. We have been best friends since secondary school so this is not a problem, but I do really wish we could hang out in the evenings, something that is just not possible when living over 100 miles apart.
Lazy Day Moving Rocks
Everyone rose late today on purpose.
Apart from Angus, Mr Moore, Tom and his mate Matt. Those guys are machines and want to walk and climb everything. The climb and walking yesterday had been tough on my knees, so today Laura took us to a spot nearby with a cool dark waterfall and little river to relax beside.
Multipitching Idwall
We had planned to up and out early so as to avoid the heat of the day. We had gotten up at a reasonable time, watered and breakfasted ourselves, made lunch for the day, packed climbing and walking kit, sun-creamed up, tidied up and still people weren’t awake….
Making Camp
Perched high up on the cliff tops overlooking South Stack, the sun was brilliant in the morning. It was completely clear but very windy so we decided to find a more calm place to cook up breakfast. I was really looking forward to some legitimate free range eggs!