A Glasgow Getaway: #2 Campervan-less travel

The Glasgow Necropolis at sunset

A couple of nights in Glasgow has been on my wishlist for some years and a birthday celebration was the ideal time to enjoy 48-hours in this handsome Scottish city. Plans were hatched and the decision was made to leave the campervan at home. Leaving our almost-blue campervan behind is hard and feels disloyal but one of the reasons for down-sizing our ‘van was a hankering to try other sorts of holidays again. So we patted it’s bonnet, gently explained and planned a train and hotel-based trip. It would be interesting to see how it compared to life on the road.

Train & Hotel

The train is an easy way for us to get to Glasgow as Lancaster is on the main West Coast Line. We had pre-booked cheap seats and while we ate our picnic lunch and read our novels we sped over the border and we pulled into the stunning Glasgow Central Station on time.

We had chosen a hotel a hop and a skip from Glasgow Central. Grasshoppers Hotel has a strange name but excellent reviews and we booked two nights online. The hotel is on the top floor of one of the buildings around Glasgow Central and climbing the stairs to the hotel [there is a lift] we passed drab Scotrail offices and seriously started to doubt our decision. We needn’t have worried, as soon as you reach the hotel floor you are in hushed luxury. Our high-ceiling room was stylish, warm and not a whisper of train engines reached us. The only quirk was the odd sliding door into the bathroom.

As well as tea and coffee making in your room, this hotel has a special feature. The welcoming lounge overlooks the vast glass roof of the railway station. Here you can browse books, make drinks and pick up a slice of cake, with vegan options always available or a bowl of ice-cream. When we asked if these were homemade, we were told the night staff make these delicious cakes in the wee hours.

Finding Free Things to do in Glasgow

It was a sunny afternoon as we strode out across the city to Glasgow Necropolis. This large Victorian garden cemetery sits on a hill near Glasgow Cathedral and on the edge of the city centre. The tombs and grave monuments compete for attention with their intricate carvings and statues and are evidence of the flourishing economy of 19th century Glasgow.

Later in the evening we strolled around the city and found a bar for drinks before retiring to our hotel room with a money-saving picnic.

The next morning, fuelled by a good hotel breakfast, we caught a train to Pollokshaws West. There are regular trains for this 30 minutes journey and we were soon walking through Pollok Country Park, enjoying the frosty morning air. We followed The White Cart Water through this former estate to the walled and woodland gardens around Pollok House before swinging around to The Burrell Collection. Some of the 9,000 objects that make up The Burrell Collection are displayed in an airy and modern museum in Pollok Country Park that is free to enter. The collection has something for everyone and includes Chinese art, medieval stained glass and tapestries. We concentrated on some of the paintings by French artists including Manet, Cezanne and Degas and my favourite without doubt, for it’s colour and life, was Degas’ The Red Ballet Skirts. The Thinker by Auguste Rodin was also a treat to have the chance to see.

Back in the city centre we walked by the River Clyde to Glasgow Green, a large urban park. We were last here on a chilly and wet day in 2021 listening to the speakers at the end of the march during COP26. This time we had chance to wander and visit The People’s Palace, the city’s museum of popular history, where we learnt about living in Glasgow tenements and taking your laundry to the communal steamies. And all for free!

Not Everything was Free

One of the reasons for coming to Glasgow was The Purple Cat Cafe and it was here we headed for tea and fun with cats. While we ate cakes, cats of all colours and ages raced across bridges above our heads, hurtled down walkways, slept in fluffy baskets, played with toys and rubbed around our legs. I laughed blissfully.

That evening we ate at Mono Cafe Bar just off Argyle Street, another wonderful place that gave an unpromising first impression. We had sauntered by this cafe bar during the daytime, it wasn’t open and frankly it looked gloomy and univiting. But, in the same way that the floor of the hotel surprised us, at night the lights were lit, the venue came alive and we entered a warm and welcoming space that served delicious, hearty and creative vegan food. I cannot recommend this place enough and it was the perfect birthday treat.

Our last morning in Glasgow took us to The Tenement House, a National Trust property with an astonishing story. This middle-class tenement takes you back to the first half of the 20th century when Miss Agnes Toward, a shorthand typist, lived here with her mother and later alone. As an independent woman, she valued her possessions and never de-cluttered. When she died she left a unique personal archive in a flat that had been empty for ten years while she was in hospital. The flat is a treasure trove of old cards, china dogs, mantle clocks and antique wallpaper. Agnes Toward’s story has occupied my mind since and I think of her often. If you get the chance, do visit.

Comparing Hotel & Campervan

As we sat on the train returning south I pondered on how this trip had compared to one in a campervan. Although it is possible to visit cities with a campervan and we have done this many times from York to Pisa, for a couple of days exploration a city centre hotel is a hard act to beat. We could crash in our room for a couple of hours between sightseeing, we didn’t have to carry lots of kit around and the sights were mostly on our doorstep. Being in the hotel meant we enjoyed some of Glasgow’s nightlife too. Much as I love our campervan, for this sort of short break the hotel wins for convenience.

Travelling to and from Glasgow by train was effortless and relaxing and cost the two of us £38 return [with a railcard], booked about a month in advance. Driving the 300+ miles would have cost around £50 just for diesel.

Of course, at £90/night for bed and breakfast it was more expensive than any campsite we’ve stayed on. We did save money by minimising our eating out and finding free things to do. In 2024, a night at the Caravan and Motorhome Club Strathclyde Country Park Club Campsite would be around £30/night at the same time of year [but our hotel was much quieter than this surrounded-by-motorways campsite]. Even if you add the cost of public transport in and out of the city and try and cost the impossible-to-price convenience, the hotel can’t be described as a budget option … but it was my birthday!

The Final Columns on the Spreadsheet & Financial Independence

My partner in travelling reached 66 years of age recently. He is fortunate to get his state pension at this age, along with his workplace pensions and his bus pass! This birthday was a huge milestone for us on our journey from being economically inactive to becoming pensioners.

When we both stopped working the nine to five in 2017 we had little income to speak of. What we did have was a spreadsheet [of course] with nine columns, one for each year until 2025. The spreadsheet forecast how much of our savings we would need to spend every year so that we could pay the bills and live our lives. We reviewed it regularly in the light of the actual amount we had spent and how much I had managed to earn as a travel writer. Every year on the 31 December I cheerfully deleted the column for the year that had ended. As our pensions have crept closer the trusty spreadsheet has diminished.

I met an old friend I hadn’t seen for a few years recently and she asked me, ‘Did the spreadsheet work?’ Her question made me smile; feel grateful that she had remembered all those conversations about early retirement we had; and also stop and think before I answered her. I realised, yes, the spreadsheet had worked and so much better than I might have hoped.

The spreadsheet started life in 2011 and until 2017 was used to track how much more money we needed to save until we could afford to retire. As the pennies became pounds the amount we needed before we could stop work got smaller.

From 2017 the spreadsheet’s use changed and a new section was added for cashflow, so that we never tied up any money long-term that we needed as our ‘income’ in the short-term. In constant use, the spreadsheet keeps us on track month by month as the details of our spending [mostly in our control and predictable] and income [unpredictable until my small NHS pension arrived in 2020] were updated. This enabled us to see at almost a glance what fiscal flexibility we had every year. Without this information, making financial decisions that were outside our budget would have been more difficult. In particular, the spreadsheet informed our decision to move house in 2019 [something we hadn’t planned for in 2017]. The spreadsheet has been our companion on our journey, growing and evolving as our life has changed, always helpful, sometimes accommodating and never draconian.

It has held my hand for so long, I have realised I will miss this spreadsheet when all the columns have been deleted in two years time. In 2026 all our pensions will have matured, I will also have a bus pass and we will have two fairly predictable incomes once again. Although we won’t be part of the workforce it will feel like we have gone back in time to the days of straightforward fixed incomes. Making sure our expenditure stays within budget will be managed by a different [and even older] spreadsheet!

I never guessed I was the sort of person who would become sentimental about a spreadsheet. Maybe it isn’t surprising when I consider how much it is a symbol of the big step we made in giving up our jobs in 2017. I think maybe my old friend would understand my emotions and I hope you readers do too.

Into Scotland & the northern shore of The Solway

The lighthouse at Southerness

After exploring the southern shores of the Solway, driving into Scotland our first stop was the Old Blacksmith’s Shop in Gretna Green.  Having traditionally been a haven for young people keen to marry, today it has handed itself completely over to romance and retail.  The courtship maze, the wall of love padlocks and a sculpture called The Big Dance with two hands clasped together to form an arch all thawed my heart on a wintery morning! 

We had been blessed with fine weather on the English part of this trip but now rain hammered on the roof of our campervan as we pulled into the nearby Devil’s Porridge Museum.  This bizarrely-named museum tells the story of the huge Gretna Green site that produced cordite during World War One.  Thousands worked here in hazardous conditions and we heard their stories while the rain pounded noisily on the museum roof.  In the local history areas I was fascinated to read about the State Management Scheme for brewing and pubs which began in wartime but continued into the 1970s.  This massive experiment aimed to change the drinking culture and reduce drunkenness. State-owned pubs sold weak beer along with food, forbade the buying of rounds and encouraged games such as dominoes and darts.

The wet and windy weather followed us along the northern Solway coast to The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s Caerlaverock reserve.  One of the many things I like about having a ‘van is that you can see over hedges and walls and I pointed out groups of geese feeding in the fields as Anthony drove.  We were just in time for Caerlaverock’s daily swan feeding and from the hide watched the multitude of swans boisterously squabbling over shovelfuls of food.

For the next couple of nights we had an enviable pitch at Queensberry Bay Leisure Park, with an unobstructed view over the Solway Firth and acres of sky.  Watching the birds feeding on the mud, fishing boats leaving Annan harbour and the changing light of sunrises and sunsets could all be done from our snug campervan while the rain pattered on our tin roof.  When we needed to stretch our legs, the campsite bar had the same spectacular view that was perfect for a lazy morning coffee with yesterday’s papers and evening beers.

When the rain eased we walked along quiet lanes finding small moments of joy when we disturbed hares in a field, picked out lapwing calls and found more cheerful clumps of flowering snowdrops.  On Powfoot Beach the remains of wooden piers were draped in shimmering seaweed and an old circular bathing pool that was part of an early 20th century plan to develop this quiet stretch of coast into a holiday resort intrigued us.

Even in winter some good weather is never too far away and we wandered around the ruins and pretty village at Sweetheart Abbey in sunshine the next day.  The impressive lighthouse at Southerness was an idyllic beach combing and rockpooling spot and at Sandyhills Bay we kicked along the soft sand with views across the Solway.  This Dumfries coast is packed with pretty coves and bays, craggy cliffs and charming villages.

On a sheltered inlet with a picturesque outlook, Kippford is delightful.  It was low tide and we could crunch our way along the shell-strewn tidal causeway to Rough Island that sits in a sheltered estuary off the Solway Firth.  A narrow path climbed from the causeway through bushes to the grassy high point of the island and rewarded us with spectacular views across the water to clusters of white cottages on tree-covered hillsides.

In the evening we were treated to a stunning sunset from the campsite above Kirkcudbright while cozily drinking tea in our ‘van.  Less enjoyable were the strong winds that rocked the ‘van alarmingly in the small hours and disturbed my sleep!

The storm passed over and the sun returned the next day as we explored the handsome town of Kirkcudbright.  Sitting on the River Dee that flows into the Solway Firth, Kirkcudbright is a vibrant and lively town with something for everyone.  We strolled around the castle and along the harbour with colourful fishing boats and admired the houses painted in pastel shades.  We picked out two of the three museums and just one café to visit.  Later we hiked to Kirkcudbright Bay, returning to the campsite on inland lanes that wound uphill and descended on woodland paths.

Our campervan trip under the big skies of the Solway Firth had delivered light of every shade from blue skies to gun-metal grey stormy clouds and deep-red sunsets.  As we drove home I suggested to Anthony that campervan trips should be available on the NHS because there was no doubt I now felt refreshed, upbeat and ready to ride out the remaining winter days.

The pictures below show Rough Island, the swans at Caerlaverock and a Dumfries beach.

Where the river meets the sea at the north-west corner of England

The Solway near Silloth

We are never put off by chilly weather and walking under wide and luminous skies and beside sparkling seas on the Solway Firth is a winter treat. The dark days of the year can seem endless and an injection of this clean light and a few colourful west-coast sunsets help me feel optimistic about spring.  This is an isolated corner of England, no one just passes by these coastal towns along the Solway, and for me, this sense of being on the edge adds to the charm.

The estuary known as the Solway Firth separates England and Scotland and we began our tour on its English shores in the small Cumbrian seaside resort of Allonby.  The hazy February sunshine was welcome, the sea shimmered with a pearly light and across the water we could see the distinctive hill called Criffel in Scotland.

Wrapped in layers we headed for the beach for some invigorating fresh air.  Anthony watched for birds and I walked along the tideline, constantly stopping to admire a shell, pebble or piece of pottery that caught my eye.  The chilly breeze whipped up the sand and we both had a healthy sand-blasted glow as we wandered back along Allonby’s street.  A quiet backwater out of season, Allonby is still a popular resort with swanky houses from its heyday.  Most striking is the old Quaker Reading Room, an unusual red-brick building with a clock tower and an uninterrupted sea view.  The building was a sorry derelict sight for many years but has now been renovated as a stylish private house that I yearn to peek inside.

The rolling green countryside in this corner of Cumbria is largely ignored by tourists and the quiet roads are a pleasure to cruise along.  With the exception of a friendly ginger cat, we had the remains of Holme Cultrum Abbey to ourselves.  I was delighted to find one of my favourite flowers, snowdrops brightening up the rambling graveyard and ruins with their shiny green stems and bobbing brilliant-white heads.  Snowdrops cheer up the dreariest day.

Planning our trip, Grune Point had caught my eye.  This remote spit of land, shaped by the tides, stretches along the Solway Firth from the town of Silloth.  Before walking along Grune Point the next morning we went in search of an essential warming coffee and stumbled into the Fairy Dust Emporium Café, a flamboyant and charming café with welcoming staff.  Sitting at one of the wooden tables surrounded by fairies of every shape and size, we rang a bell for service and another fairy gained her wings.  As well as hot coffee the irresistible warm cheese scones with fiery chilli jam were a tonic.

Striding out along the wide promenade above the beach, the Solway Firth and Scotland were to our left and houses with an enviable sea view to our right.  After a larger-than-life metal sculpture of a man and his dog and East Cote Lighthouse we picked up a lane lined with yellow flowering gorse bushes that held the promise of spring.  Nearer to the point we walked along a beach that alternated shingle of colourful pebbles and soft deep sand blown into mini dunes and dotted with bleached driftwood.  The blues of the sea merged into the huge sky, sharp calls of oystercatchers filled the air and the sun warmed our backs; it was as stunning as I had hoped.

Turning the corner of Grune Point we were looking over a vast area of salt marsh and mud flats, wriggling with channels.  The cheese scones and coffee had worn off and we found shelter near an old pill box and cupped our hands around mugs of hot chocolate from our flask, another winter essential.  In a clamour of honking, hundreds of barnacle geese rose from the salt marsh and flew over our heads in unruly v-shaped skeins.  A heavy shower followed the geese and we hurried back to Silloth.

We received another warm Silloth welcome in the Motorcycle Museum, a Tardis-like place packed with bikes and motorcycling memorabilia that will delight anyone.  Silloth once had a racing circuit at the airfield and the owner talked passionately about his experiences of racing there and on the Isle of Man.  Wistfully I recalled my visit to the TT in the 1970s but couldn’t pinpoint the year; of course the knowledgeable owner soon pieced it together from my muddle of vague memories.

A frost had turned the green countryside into a winter-wonderland white the next morning as we drove to Newton Arlosh to see the fortified church.  In this border area churches were built with thick walls, narrow doorways and a tower as a refuge for people and animals during attacks from Scotland.  This medieval church fell out of use and became a roofless sheep pen but was restored in the 19th century by Sarah Losh, a local wealthy and determined woman and it now has many fascinating features including a stone eagle on the roof.

The Solway Firth had narrowed when we picked up its shores again and pulled into the RSPB reserve at Campfield Marsh where the pools were frozen and the ducks waited patiently for the water to melt.  A railway line once crossed these marshes and a viaduct took it over the Solway to Scotland.  In the cold winter of 1881 ice, up to 6ft thick, bumped against the pillars of the railway viaduct destroying sections.  A local paper reported that workmen on the viaduct were distracted when they spotted a hare stranded on a block of ice and floating out to sea!  The railway closed in 1921 and the disused line became part of an ambitious and dangerous pub crawl.  Thirsty Scots would cross the viaduct on foot to take advantage of the more lenient Sunday licensing laws in England.  There are stories of inebriated individuals missing their footing on the bridge and never making it home and until the viaduct was demolished a guard was employed to try and prevent these fatal journeys. 

We wandered around the quayside remains at Port Carlisle before parking in Burgh by Sands to hike onto the salt marsh to the monument to Edward I who died here on his way to invading Scotland.  This land is the grazing for prized salt marsh lamb and an annual auction for parcels of land called stints is still held every year.  Across the River Eden we could see traffic on the M6 and The Metal Bridge Inn, [not surprisingly] named after the metal bridge over the River Esk. This would be our stop for the night.

The Metal Bridge Inn is a landmark for anyone driving north on the M6 and a place that combines isolation with six-lanes of traffic.  Under another orange-red sky I climbed the steps of the railway bridge and looked down on the River Esk as it wound its way through salt marshes to the Solway and the Irish Sea. Skeins of pink-footed geese flew overhead, their energetic honking so loud and uninhibited they drowned out the traffic on the M6!

Although I was craving light, coziness is also essential to get through the winter months and this snug pub welcomes campervans on a dedicated parking area and serves good beer and hearty food.  By the time we walked back to the Blue Bus in the dark all the ‘pitches’ were taken and I was pleased to see we weren’t the only campers enjoying our ‘van all year.

Part Two and our journey into Scotland and the Scottish shore of the Solway will be in my next post.

Photographs of the Allonby’s old Reading Room, Grune Point and Newton Arlosh church below.

2023 Spending Reviewed: The Only Way is Up!

It is that time of the year when once again I share the expenditure of a couple living in the northwest of England and reveal our spending in all its individualism and flaws.

Given current inflation, it isn’t a headline grabber to reveal that during 2023 our spending increased. When we retired in 2017 our budget was £27,000 a year or less and although we budgeted for inflation we mostly spent less than £27,000 until 2023. Last year I watched our spending increase by a whopping 8% on 2022!

Below you can read the details of this spending. This year I have highlighted how our attempts to live a more environmentally-friendly life both costs us and saves us money.

The big change for us in 2023 was an increase in our regular income. Hooray! My small NHS pension [it doesn’t even pay our supermarket bills] and my irregular and diminishing travel writer income and interest on our savings are now joined by my fellow frugalista’s local government pension. Successfully getting this money out of Lancashire County Council is a long and sorry tale of out-sourcing mayhem that I won’t bore you with but it did involve the helpful people of Fort William Library as we got to grips with their ancient flatbed scanner during our Scottish holiday. Our income is now about 70% of our spending and we are starting to feel just a little secure.

Our other big expense in 2023 was trading in our much loved blue Renault Master campervan for a younger and smaller Ford Transit in a shade of silver that looks almost blue in the right light! We received a good trade-in for our Renault but still reduced our savings by a chunk to make this purchase. The only big home improvement expenditure was flooring in our kitchen that was reassuringly expensive enough to surely outlive both of us! 

Here is how our budget breaks down into my different categories:

Essentials – total £8,418 [30% of total spending] [2022 £8,941 / 33%]

Food – £4,535 [2022 £4,074] – Averaging £377/month, it isn’t surprising we spent more on food and alcohol in 2023 as we have all witnessed the supermarket price rises. We continue to both be vegetarian but in 2023 we leaned closer to being vegan motivated by health issues. As well as being healthier, a vegan diet is generally a cheaper way to eat. I always say I couldn’t give up cheese and I haven’t, but we’re limiting our dairy consumption to some mature Gouda in the Friday night risotto and I find I’m not missing it through the week. Butter on my toast, in contrast, is a tough sacrifice. Our shopping habits are mostly a win for the environment and our pocket.

Utilities, insurance & phones for a 2-bed 57.2 sq mtrs [615.7 sq feet] bungalow – £3,584 [2022 £4.031] – By contrast I am suprised that the cost of our bills has reduced. In 2023 we managed to save money on our water bills by using less and we found cheaper contracts for our mobiles and broadband. Our gas and electric only increased by £26 in 2023 and the biggest increase was our council tax. Saving water is a win for the environment and our pockets

Our health – £299 [2022 £836] – 2023 has been the year of teeth! We still have a NHS dentist and constantly count our good fortune as the tooth is [groan] this budget line would have been considerably more if we were paying private prices!

The money we spend on the essentials above are, in theory, the minimum we need to survive, if nothing goes wrong or wears out and we didn’t own a campervan and never went anywhere!

Stuff (electronics, books, newspapers and other kit) – £5,832 [21% of total spending] [2022 £4,719 / 18%]

Household spending [everything from glue, newspapers and books to bird food, gardening stuff and parts for the bikes] – £4,979 [ 2022 £4,076] I thought 2022 had been the year of stuff and hoped to reduce this budget line in 2023 but it wasn’t to be! Instead we flashed the credit card to purchase two handsome new armchairs from John Lewis that make me happy every time I curl up in one to read a book. We also spent money on the garden, creating a new hedge with wildlife in mind and replacing plants lost in the frosts of December 2022. The PC we use for TV viewing began to fail and we spent £470 updating the components while re-using the existing case. Fortunately my partner is able to carry out all the labour for this sort of work. In the autumn a storm wrecked a garden arch that we replaced and one of our mobile phones was long overdue being replaced. There is always something! With the exception of the wildlife friendly garden plants this is an environmental and spending thumbs down.

Clothes & accessories – £853 [2022 £643] – Until the last few months of the year I was hopeful we were keeping this category in check as all we had purchased were a few replacement t-shirts from charity shops and new cycling helmets. Then suddenly a new padded jacket, a fleece and hiking shoes could wait no longer. We still have a one-in-one-out policy with clothes as the space we have hasn’t increased. Again an environmental and spending thumbs down.

Experiences – £13,619 [47% of total spending] [2022 £11,805 / 46%]

Holidays [still our favourite spending line] – £4,481 [2022 £4,096] – Our spring holiday to France in our campervan was wonderful and it was where we made the decision to downsize our ‘van. This decision was made for many reasons and one was an urge to have other sorts of holidays that didn’t involve a campervan. So, this total also reflects a week in a holiday cottage and a few days in a hotel in Glasgow [travelling by train] as well as those [getting more expensive] campsites.

Restaurants & cafes – £2,687 [2022 £2,311] – In 2023 we made a conscious effort to particularly support our local veggie and vegan restaurants. We are lucky to have The Whale Tale, Pure Vegan and The Herbarium nearby in Lancaster and they all serve fantastic food and we don’t want to see any of them close.

Running the campervan [servicing & insurance etc] – £3,475 [2022 £2,058] – With perfect timing we traded in the Blue Bus beautifully kitted out with four six-month old tyres. We didn’t think our two-year-old Ford Transit with around 18,000 miles on the clock would need new tyres immediately. However, when we gave its tyres an up-close-and-personal check up they looked as if the previous owner had spent all those 18,000 miles off-road! Life is precarious enough without risking being on the road with cracked, pitted and battered tyres and we replaced them. Our much-loved Renault also developed an electrical fault in the spring that required a replacement leisure battery and needed a new bathroom tap. The new-to-us Ford had a minor dent, a small patch of rust on the rear doors and the sliding door needed adjustment. Ford require owners to pay a few quid for an annual bodywork inspection to keep any warranty valid and as the previous off-roading owners hadn’t done this [goodness knows why not!] these cost us £600. A campervan is neither positive for the environment or our pockets!

Diesel for the above ‘van – £1,210 [2022 £1,905 ] – We can’t save the planet single-handed but we can try and one way is to use our campervan [our only vehicle] less. In addition we are getting more miles to the gallon of diesel from the Ford Transit and it is Euro 6 compliant. There is a tiny environmental win here.

Tickets for concerts, football & attractions – £696 [2022 £744] – In 2023 we re-discovered our love of cinema, something that had taken a bit of a knock during Covid-19. The Dukes in Lancaster shows some fantastic films as well as theatre and the highlight of the year for me was Carol Morley’s Typist Artist Pirate King, a moving and funny road trip film. Look out for it on TV if you missed it in 2023.

Public transport costs – £1,070 [2022 £691] – A consequence of using our own vehicle less is using public transport more. We have a Disabled Rail Card to reduce the cost of our train fares and a return to Manchester is around £30 for the two of us, although unreliability is frustrating. While the trains continue to cause us more drama than you want from public transport, the £2 bus fares have transformed our local travel plans and we hop on and off buses with abandon. In 2024 my older partner will get his bus pass and we can’t wait! Using public transport is a tick for the environment but using the train is often more expensive than driving.

Giving – £704 [2% of total spending] [2022 £940 / 6%]

Gifts & donations – £940 [2021 £1,352] – In 2023 we supported Morecambe’s Food Bank, charities campaigning against climate change and Ukraine once again. I wish we didn’t have to support any of these charities but the need continues. Gifts to family and friends, it seems, have become more frugal and none of them have complained!

TOTAL SPENDING FOR 2023 – £28,573

2023 has been our highest spending year iin retirement. Over my seven years of retirement we have spent an average of £24,988 a year. With inflation remaining high we are now budgetting around £30,000 for 2024 and we’ll see how that pans out. 

In 2024 our income increases as Anthony reaches state pension age. It is now only two years until I will be 66 years old too and our income will [hopefully] be sufficient for our lifestyle.

Here’s to 2024 when we hope to continue to live the life we want to lead and have the resilience to survive whatever 2024 brings us.

Let me know in the comments below how your budget matched your spending in 2023 and your hopes for 2024.

Don’t let anyone else ruin your day. It is your day, ruin it yourself!

One of the sculptures at Les Lapidiales near Port-d’Envaux in France

We think we want things to be real, but does anyone really want to read about an anxious travel writer? I’m not sure they do and so recently I haven’t actually lied, as one segment of my head adores our campervan travels, but there is a dark wedge of my brain I have kept to myself.

It was during our last trip to France that I noticed how contradictory I was feeling. While relishing exploring the beautiful country in our campervan I was also secretly doom-mongering. Anything that could go wrong [and probably wouldn’t] spun around and around in my head, driving my anxiety levels through the roof. My brain convinced itself it knew the future and it was bleak!

At first I tried ignoring my anxious feelings thinking that would make them go away. This didn’t work! Changing tack, I gave my anxiety some attention. This helped me see how my fears were familiar from our trip to Germany last year. I had muddled along then but this time my anxiety levels were higher and overwhelming and going home seemed the only answer!

Anxiety can sound trivial but it multiplies, feeding on itself. It starts in my brain but very quickly affects my whole body. Always the writer, my notes from the time describe the physical symptoms of a tight chest, nausea and fast and shallow breathing. And all because my head was busy imagining the worst things that might never happen.

Healing begins with sharing

I struggled to understand why I would be anxious when I was living the dream and travelling with my partner in our campervan. I felt guilty and stupid for having these negative feelings. I did not want to let anxiety about tomorrow spoil our trip and I thought the best thing was to keep my anxiety to myself, keep calm and carry on.

It took a few weeks to admit to my partner in campervanning how I was feeling. He is a caring individual and didn’t tell me I was being ridiculous. Being open about my anxious feelings shone a light on them, revealing the deceit they wallowed in. Saying them out loud helped me see how my anxiety was so clever it could fool me into thinking my imagined threats were real. It helped me to engage the rational side of my brain, calm my adrenaline-fuelled body and see that these worst-case-scenarios were fantasies. To even imagine I could predict the future was an illusion!

His caring approach didn’t make the anxiety go away but it helped. He recognised how difficult it was for me to admit that something in my brain was broken. There were no visible wounds to soothe but he gave me the love and patience I needed. Sympathy and talking were positive but no cure, so together we came up with a few strategies to ease my anxiety and be able to continue our holiday.

Small Steps

Firstly, we slowed down our tour, staying in one place for longer so that I could settle in, feel at ease and work at re-booting my brain. We travelled short distances on the days that we moved too and this relaxed approach to our trip worked well for us both.

As well as driving less, I lived at a slower pace. We had no deadlines and were footloose and it wasn’t necessary to rush to see a particular attraction or place. We adopted a calm approach to our days, taking a leisurely breakfast, lunch and evening meal when we would talk and laugh together. We stayed away from large towns and cities, choosing countryside locations where we were surrounded by nature.

Daily exercise has always been important for my wellbeing and the French countryside is perfect for the active holidays we enjoy. We walked or cycled, taking time to stop to watch wildlife, identify flowers or read about the local history of the village we were in. I focussed on joyful things that made me smile.

Strange as it seems, I also made time to fret, allowing an early evening worry-time slot. I used this to write down all the things I was anxious about and how I was feeling. I practiced some controlled breathing and worked at being more accepting of uncertainty. I was mindful of my anxious and racing thoughts and the accompanying rush of adrenaline and allowed them to have their moment without a fight. I used the My Possible Self app to give some structure to this time.

After a few days I would recognise the doom-laden thoughts as soon as they popped into my head. I would acknowledge these thoughts and sing, ‘Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again.’ Sometimes this enabled me to see the dishonesty of my fears and stop the out-of-control downward spiral in its tracks. Whether cycling, cooking or pottering around the campsite, The Sound of Silence became my holiday tune!

I worked at being nice to myself and tried to accept that everyone has something that is hard to do. I occasionally felt positive that I would once again be an anxious-free traveller.

Letting in the light

This anxiety has crept up on me since the Covid-19 lockdowns. Covid-19 proved to all us naysayers that bad things can be just around the corner. The pandemic led to many changes and for me having to stay at home and worry about catching a potentially deadly bug was enough to trigger anxiety.

Although I am pleased that we are much more open about mental health issues in the UK than we used to, I am not convinced anyone wants to open their motorhome or campervan magazine and read travel articles peppered with mental health worries. So my articles dwell on the light, rather than the daily grind. Sharing in this blog post is a big step, so please be kind.

I don’t want to be the person that is ruining my own day, I know how few I have left! I do want to reduce my anxiety levels and become ME again and I am hopeful I can do that … so watch this space.

A quick note on resources: As well as the My Possible Self app I have worked through Joshua Feltcher’s book Anxiety: Practical About Panic and I signed up for his Anxiety Josh newsletters, the NHS Every Mind Matters emails and The Friendly Mind.

Walks from Red Kite Touring Park in Llanidloes

Red Kite Touring Park in Llanidloes in mid-Wales is an adult-only high quality campsite. Staying there had been on our wishlist for a while and this year we got the chance to enjoy the excellent facilities it offers for three nights.

If you don’t know the campsite, it sits above the small town of Llanidloes and has hard-standing pitches with views down the valley. The facilities are modern and excellent and the welcome is friendly.

We like to leave our campervan on our pitch and walk and a quick look at the map suggested there would be no shortage of options and this was true. The campsite is well-run and reception keep a folder of walks from short strolls to long hikes. There are multiple copies of each walk so you can take away the instructions, pack a picnic and set off into the Welsh countryside.

Llyn Clywedog & Old Lead Mines (approx 13 km / 8 miles)

Red Kite Touring Park sits on the hillside above the Afon Clywedog that flows into the River Severn. From the campsite dog walk we picked up a lane that follows the Afon Clywedog away from Llanidloes. The lane climbed steadily through woodland to a farmhouse where we turned right and joined the Glyndŵr’s Way. This is a 217 Km long-distance path that meanders from Knighton to Welshpool. It is named after Owain Glyndŵr who was a Welsh prince and leader who led a rebellion against Henry IV in 1400.

The section of this path by Bryntail, passing a former outdoor centre, had open views across the valley and was so enjoyable we stopped for lunch on the bench in the photograph above.

Dropping down the hillside we could see the massive dam holding back the waters of Llyn Clywedog. We explored the buildings of the old lead mine and appreciated the information boards that explained the grimy processes that were carried out in this industrial site.

We chose to take a path around the head of a small valley to Cwm Deildre. The first section of this path traversed the steep-sided valley and was tough going as we fought our way through flourishing bracken. This was so arduous we were relieved to reach the head of valley and an easier-going track. At Cwm Deildre we joined lanes that took us to paths back to the wooded banks of the Afon Clywedog which we crossed the bridge back to the campsite.

This walk had plenty of interest and big views and I would recommend it.

Llanidloes, the Severn Way & Glynbrochan (approx 16 km / 10 miles)

From Red Kite Touring Park you can either walk into Llanidloes the pretty way, crossing Afon Clywedog and skirting the valley side through woodland. This is about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) or you can walk along the pavement by the road which is slightly shorter. We followed the campsite instructions for the pretty route and after looking around some of Llanidloes elegant and interesting buildings we sought out a coffee shop. The Wild Oak Cafe was an excellent choice for the range of food, good coffee and comfortable atmosphere.

We left Llanidloes on the minor road that follows the River Severn, turning left to cross the river on the quiet lane towards Glynbrochan. Leaving the tarmac we picked up paths on the hillside to our right and became just a little lost until we realised which side of a hedge we should be on! Eventually we scrambled down a steep path through trees to reach the dam of a small reservoir where we had our picnic lunch.

The path from the reservoir to the farm was boggy and we were glad to reach the tracks without our feet getting soaked. A farm track took us downhill back towards the River Severn where we joined a lane that led back to the bridge where we had crossed the river earlier and we were soon back in Llanidloes and climbing the hill back to the campsite on the road route.

Apart from Llanidloes, which is worth a visit, this walk only had the reservoir as a focus for our interest but we stretched our legs and felt we had deserved tea and cake later!

From Gallic Tempest to Flashy Firefly: Our Third Devon Conversions Campervan

We started the conversation during our campervan trip around France. Was it time to change our campervan? We adored our Devon Conversions Tempest on a chic blue Renault, it had everything we needed. After eight-and-a-half years, over 900 nights and around 80,000 miles it had been the workhorse campervan you expect from a Renault Master. Sitting in the French sun with a bottle of wine we mulled over options. Not owning a campervan at all was one we needed to consider but my tears at even the thought answered that question! We are a good team and generally get the best solutions when we put our two heads together and eventually we realised that what we wanted was a smaller ‘van.

When we bought our Devon Tempest we were keen to try the luxury of a travelling with a bathroom and didn’t want the faff of turning the front seats around. We had enjoyed what we think of as our enormous 5.4 metre long Blue Bus but both now felt ready to return to a simpler way of camping. We also felt uncomfortable owning a diesel ‘van with a Euro Five engine, we wanted something less polluting.

The research began with electric ‘vans but it soon became apparent that although there are a few out there they are still a rare beast and would cost almost as much as our Lancashire bungalow! A second-hand but newer campervan with a Euro Six engine was a cleaner option that wouldn’t leave us destitute. Visiting campervan dealers it quickly became clear that what we wanted was difficult to find. Campervans have become so popular they fly off the forecourt and those on offer were unsuitable in so many ways.

Then we had a piece of luck. A chance conversation alerted us to a short wheel base Devon Firefly on a Ford Custom Transit coming up for sale. We like the Devon Conversions campervans and had owned two previously so we were beyond excited while we waited. The Firefly is a similar layout to our previous Devon Conversions campervan, the Sundowner, although that was on a VW. It was a layout we prefered as it includes a toilet tucked away at the back, so we could downsize without losing all the facilities we had been used to.

Seeing the Firefly, the only thing wrong with it was its colour! Our first three campervans have all been blue and we were looking at a silver campervan. I quietly started to wonder how much a re-spray would cost! Eventually I came to accept that silver is on the blue scale and we were buying a ‘van that identifies as blue!

Buying second-hand is so different from buying new. As well as not being able to pick the colour we couldn’t pick and choose from the menu of expensive extras and the ‘van came with someone else’s choices. We had the electric water heater they had fitted taken out, as it took up space and, with no shower, was no more use than a kettle. We also had a diesel heater fitted. I am mystified to know why someone wouldn’t put a heater in their campervan as in the UK this really only leaves about three months of the year when you can comfortably go camping. This was also our first experience of owning a conversion with a compression fridge rather than a three-way fridge.

Emptying our Tempest took a week as we considered each item, trying to decide what was essential and what wasn’t ready for down-sizing. The essentials still seemed a very large pile to fit into a small five-metre-long campervan. At the dealers I said a tearful goodbye to our Blue Bus and wished it a happy second life. Back home we thankfully found a place for all our stuff in the Firefly and set off on our first camping trip to Small Batch campsite near Church Stretton in Shropshire.

Our shakedown trip only had a few mishaps. After so many years with our Tempest and knowing all its quirks and corners, we felt like beginner campers again with this new machine. Most embarrasingly and publicly, we were that ‘van that set off the alarm at bed time, disturbing the whole campsite! We had never had an alarm before and some learning was required. The compression fridge had more space than our previous fridge and I had packed it with food, including garlic bread for our evening meal, forgetting we no longer had an oven! Fortunately, we were away with friends with a larger ‘van and an oven so we didn’t have to try cooking garlic bread in the RidgeMonkey. We learnt to switch the compression fridge off during the night as it is very noisy! And we got back into the habit of turning those front seats. After six nights away we were settling down and getting used to living in a campervan that was just underfive metres long. We also had a long list of modifications we wanted to make.

A kind friend, watching us struggling to figure out locking the Firefly so that the alarm wouldn’t go off, suggested that changing ‘vans was good for our brain health as we were having to re-learn so many things. I hung on to her positivity as we muddled through all the new-ness of the Firefly.

It seems that our Tempest has sold to new owners so we hope we meet it on the road one day and that whoever purchased it has lots of fun travels and enjoys all that space.

The Aerative Clothes and Boot Drier

Updated April 2024

We don’t buy gadgets! But this one has been so useful in our campervan I had to share it with you. Wet clothes and shoes draped around our small campervan make me stressed. They get in the way and make the ‘van feel damp. Some ‘vans have luxurious bathrooms with heating and you can hang up clothes there, shut the door and forget about it but this isn’t an option for us. Now, providing we have a hook up, the Aerative shoe and clothes drier takes the strain out of rainy days and laundry.

At £69 this has to be good, so what do get for your money? The Aerative comes in a draw string bag and takes up about the space of a small pair of shoes. Folded up it sits in your shoes but the drier also has a hook that unfastens so you can easily hang it up. It then opens out into a coat hanger shape, with air ducts along the arms. You simply plug it in and press go. It also comes with pegs for items that don’t hang up so easily, such as socks. Another advantage is that it only uses around one amp so won’t blow the campsite electric system or cost you a fortune if you’re on a meter.

To dry a shirt we hang the Aerative from a hook or from a cupboard door handle near to a plug, open the Aerative out fully, hang the shirt on the Aerative and switch on. It does dry fast but this will depend on the fabric of your shirt. We find that often the very bottom of a shirt remains damp and we will turn it upside down and peg it around the hanger to finish it off.

Drying boots and shoes is easy and there is no need to extend the arms into a hanger. In the folded position shown in the photograph above you can place each ‘arm’ in a shoe and switch it on. It takes a long time to completely dry a pair of soaked through boots but this and air drying overnight should mean you have dry boots the next day which is luxury.

The only downside to this useful piece of kit is the noise. It hums like a low-powered hair dryer so is fine while we are sitting reading or cooking but you wouldn’t want it on all the time. If you have a bathroom and can pop it in there and shut the door this will be less of an issue.

Twelve months on, I wouldn’t be without this piece of kit. It still fits in our downsized campervan and feels essential for drying wet gear and washing. If more campsites had a drying room [or it never rained] we probably wouldn’t need an aerative but in the real world …

I haven’t been paid to write this review or received a free piece of kit I merely wanted to share with readers something we have found that has made our camping experiences better.

Crossing the Forest of Bowland in a Mini Adventure

Occasionally we have a holiday without our campervan [honest] [And we always miss the Blue Bus when we leave it behind]. Our latest short break hardly took us out of Lancashire. Here is the story of our mini adventure over a couple of days when we hiked across the Forest of Bowland.

The walk of around 40 kilometres is best done over two days with an overnight in Slaidburn. You have some options on the route and you may vary it depending on the weather, time of year and how much time you have available. The hike features in the Cicerone Walking in Lancashire book as a 45 kilometres (28 miles) walk and if you want a detailed description this would be worth purchasing.

We put the walk on our wish list recently and for the last six weeks I had been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast but July just got wetter and wetter. This wasn’t the weather I wanted for hiking across empty moorland and I had to wait until early August for a break in the rain and a window of sunshine. Excited, I rang the Hark to Bounty Inn in Slaidburn to book our overnight accommodation and we packed the rucksacks with essentials.

We caught the early bus from Lancaster towards Kirkby Lonsdale, getting off in the village of Wray. From here, if you have time you can take the paths up the wooded Roeburn valley but we headed straight up the lane to High Salter, reducing the walk by two kilometres. This lane was quiet and enjoyable with panoramic views over the Lune valley and to Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside, the Yorkshire Three Peaks. We passed some rustic wooden sculptures and a well-kept memorial bench surrounded by flower beds.

At High Salter we left the last of the farms and reached the gravel track of Salter Fell Road that crosses the moorland to Slaidburn. At first the track climbs steadily up to the watershed, the River Roeburn tumbling below us. From the summit the streams no longer flowed into the River Lune but were heading towards the River Ribble. In this treeless high land the views across the moorland were wide open with the stony track snaking across the landscape. There isn’t much obvious wildlife on these grouse shooting moors but a lizard scuttled away from our feet and a couple of kestrels hovered over the slopes. A herd of belted galloway cows ambled towards us on both verges of the track, forming a moving guard of honour. These calm cows are nevertheless bulky and we walked between them quickly but cautiously.

We stopped on a rocky outcrop near the watershed for lunch taking in the view across purple flowering heather. The track is used by off-road bikers and cyclists and a group of scramblers dented the peace and our solitude as they bounced by.

Walking with a heavier than usual rucksack was tiring and we stopped again in the mid-afternoon for cake and I lay back on the heather gazing up at the wispy clouds in the blue sky, waking up a short while later! Up to now route finding had been easy but this changed as we left the Salters Fell Road for Croasdale House on a soggy and overgrown path. Negotiating nettles, farms, stiles, cattle and dogs we eventually reached a lane into Slaidburn. Staying on the track and lanes into Slaidburn would have been easier going and a similar distance although it was harvest time and the narrow country lanes were busy with farm vehicles.

We reached the Hark to Bounty just after they opened at 17.30 and were grateful for a room to rest in with a hot shower and a kettle for tea. The Hark to Bounty is an old inn that is full of character and has a heart of the community feel. The bedrooms are comfortable and individual but not ultra-modern. That evening we ate hearty food in the bar and slept the deep sleep of backpackers.

Slaidburn is an unusual village. At first glance it looks timeless and this is in part because it is owned by one family. Sitting in agricultural Lancashire Slaidburn has no modern buildings and is not wall-to-wall holiday lets. The 17th century cottages and farms are rented, the school remains viable and there is still a village shop and pub. Slaidburn also has a handmade chocolate shop, a cafe and a youth hostel available for sole use.

There had been some rain showers overnight but the next morning was fine and after breakfast we once again heaved our rucksacks onto our backs and set off along the River Hodder to Stocks Reservoir and Gisburn Forest. Built in the 1930s, Stocks Reservoir get its name from Stocks-in-Bowland, the village that was flooded.

Gisburn Forest is vast, apparently almost 3,000 acres vast, so it was no surprise that it took us most of the morning to cross it. As is often the way when we can’t see the route for the trees, we got lost more than once and without GPS we would probably still be wandering around the forest! All Gisburn’s acres have plenty of variety and from the shores of Stocks Reservoir we walked through magical vivid-green treescapes, alongside sunny verges where peacock butterflies were thriving and, of course, through dark pine forests. Eventually we emerged with some relief at the highest point, Whelp Stone Crag, and stopped for lunch looking across the farmland towards Yorkshire and our walks end.

The relief was short lived as we still had some kilometres to walk and a bus to catch. We tried to choose the best route from the many lanes and footpaths on the map but twice ended up on an overgrown walled lane that no one had tramped along for some time. Both of these were thick with nettles and brambles and, wearing shorts we emerged with legs covered in scratches and stings. I always react badly to nettle stings and my tingling legs were soon attractively covered in swollen red lumps that only antihistamines can deal with. Anthony doesn’t suffer in the same way but did collect a tick.

After more encounters with young bullocks that herded and trotted curiously behind us, way too close for comfort. We tried to stay calm and walk rather than giving way to the urge to run! A hare bounding over a wall delighted us and we climbed gates that were tied shut with string despite being on a right of way and heaved ourselves and our rucksacks over so many stiles we lost count until we reached the A65 and the bus stop by The Craven Arms in Giggleswick. There is a railway station here but we caught the cheaper bus home, changing in Ingleton.

There is something satisfying about completing a linear walk while carrying your kit and we enjoyed our short trip. The warm weather meant we weren’t laden with lots of extra clothing but we did carry plenty of water as well as spare food [apart from Slaidburn there were no shops or cafes on our route] and our emergency first aid kit.