So Long 2021, The Year of Minimal Motorhoming (For Us)

We’ve already sat thought several TV shows giving a round up of 2021, and we thought quite a few of the items mentioned had happened in 2020, or even earlier. This strange pandemic time is playing tricks on our minds, or is it just that we’re getting a bit older? I just typed the title to this blog post, and realised we’d actually managed around four months away in our motorhome this year. For many folks that would be a dream, for us it felt like we were hardly in it.

We saw in New Year 2021 in our motorhome on a campsite in Nerja, Spain, having driven down there in October 2020. With the strike of midnight, the post-Brexit rules came into effect so we now had a time limit on our stay. We knew we’d have to be out of the Schengen zone by 31st March at the very latest, but had no idea what would happen if we overstayed. Not wanting to get into trouble we booked a ferry for mid-March, although having heard from folks who did overstay in Spain by a week or so, it seems nothing happened – their passports were stamped as they left and nothing was said.

Those first three months of the year were spent enjoying the outside life that the sunshine of southern Spain allows in winter. We lived with one eye constantly on the news for updates about Covid restrictions in Spain as well as the UK. At one point the restrictions closed down Andalusia to town border level, meaning we couldn’t leave Nerja without good reason. To us this wasn’t really an issue, Zagan only moved once during our time on the campsite, for a trip to the local English-speaking garage and a Lidl stock up. Instead we relied on bikes for the weekly shop and our feet. We walked. A lot. We hiked a fair bit too in the mountains around the town, and we also ran a lot. I was building up my miles each week in training for the the Virtual Ashby20, which Jay accompanied me for on our final week in Nerja, running 20 miles along the coast without stopping, my furthest ever run.

A lack of travellers saw our mid-March ferry cancelled, so we rebooked for the end of March. At the time the British press were stressing us out, suggesting that Spain was about to go on the ‘red list’. If that happened we’d have to quarantine in a hotel in our return (it didn’t happen!). We drove across the country in a couple of days worrying we might break down, or get a positive covid test before departure. These would force us to stay past the end of our Schengen allowance, and have us isolating in the van with no food as we’d eaten down the fridge and freezer for the crossing. Again we needn’t have worried. The results of our pre-ferry covid tests took less time to come back than to queue to have them done, and both were negative. On 31st March we boarded the ferry for the UK.

Back in Nottingham we had to quarantine at home, our third time in quarantine, so we’d got the hang of it. A Sainsbury delivery arrived a couple of hours after we got home, and we also bought a ‘normal sized’ TV, which our friends kindly dropped off. We knew we’d be watching it quite a bit of TV, and I could no longer read the sub-titles on the TV from our motorhome without my glasses. Our ‘Day 2 and Day 8’ PCR tests were waiting for us when we arrived, although I’m still waiting for my Day 2 test results as it went missing. We also each received daily phone calls from the test and trace team to ensure we quarantined for the full 10 days, although in the end we quarantined for 11 days as we had to wait for our Day 8 results to come back before we could safely be released. We emerged just as covid restrictions were eased on April 12th allowing pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms and non-essential shops to reopen. Once we were free there was no stopping us, we bought ourselves a Mini and drove to the vaccination centre, relieved and grateful to get our first jab of Astra-Zeneca vaccine.

The following day we headed to Skegness with Jay’s Dad while we reopened his caravan for the year. It was his first time there since Jay’s Mum had passed away, so we went to give him some moral support. Covid restrictions meant we couldn’t stay with him in the caravan, and there were no campsites open and hotels could only be booked by key workers, so we booked ourselves into a self-contained AirBnB for a few nights. Back home we took our motorhome Zagan to the garage as his exhaust had snapped in two and was held together with a sweetcorn can, and visited our friends for a BBQ in their garden. We also made the difficult decision to sell one of our rental properties, and after the tenants decided they didn’t want to buy it, we gave then six months notice meaning they’d move out in October so we’d have a winter project doing up the house before we sold it.

On the 17th May indoor hospitality was able to re-open, and foreign travel from the UK became legal again. However, after the stress (and cost) of tests to get back home from Spain we decided we’d probably prefer to stay in the UK for 2021. Around the same time we realised that this blog had been going for a decade. Yes, 10 years of our ramblings, we’ve no idea why you have all stuck around for so long!

Zagan had some further fettling done when Jay freshened up his aged and yellowing plastic bits by respraying areas like the inside of the habitation door, and totally resealed his main skylight, instead of our usual patch up job. After that he was ready to be seen in public again and at the end of May we stayed for a couple of nights on the farm campsite where we store him. He had to drive all of 200m from his storage space to the field. Our friends Chris and Tina were on a trip in their motorhome (the brilliantly named Christina), and we parked up side by side, just like we’d done almost a decade earlier on our first motorhome adventure in Northern Spain and Morocco. At the start of June we used the Mini to visit our friends (and fellow motorhomers) Richard and Jenny who live in York.

To ensure Zagan didn’t feel neglected, in late June we took him to Carsington Water in Derbyshire for a couple of nights. While there we spotted a Temporary Holiday Site being run by the Camping and Caravan Club on the field next to where we were staying. We got talking to one of the wardens and realised how great these sites would be for us while staying in the UK for this year. We signed up and used our membership to get discount at a campsite in Llanberis in Wales. This enabled Jay to celebrate his birthday by running up Snowdon, followed by fish and chips back at the motorhome. Not ready to come home just yet, we made a holiday of it by driving just a few miles to Garth Farm Campsite and spending another three nights there taking in the beautiful view, followed by a couple of nights on the coast near Colwyn Bay.

Back home in early July we got to experience our first proper running race for over a year when we both joined other members of our running club for the Derwent River Relays. Covid rules in England that were supposed to be relaxed on 19th June, didn’t happen until 21st July so the race couldn’t be run as a relay. Still it was wonderful to be back running with folks again, we didn’t realise just how much we’d missed it.

We suspected that campsites in the UK would get rammed during August, so we set off on our summer holiday tour in early July, booking places as we went. We experienced our first Temporary Holiday Site at Lyme Marina, before meeting up with our friends Richard and Jenny again at our first official Camping and Caravan Club Site in Kewsick. Here we had a great few days with them walking around the lake as well as trying out stand-up paddle boarding on the lake. We couldn’t fault the site’s location, and the company we had, but the site seemed a tad bureaucratic, maybe a necessity given how busy it was? Richard and Jenny got told off for arriving before arrivals time, and when we wanted to extend our stay by a day, we were told we would have to stop by the campsite reception every day, between 9 and 10am or 4 and 5pm, to see if a place had become free. I asked if I could leave our details instead, but was met with rolled eyes and some mutterings about they’d have lists everywhere if they did that.

As we were unable to extend our stay at Keswick, we said farewell to our friends and drove the length of Derwent Water to Seathwaite Farm campsite where we planned to stay for a couple of nights, but ended up there for nearly a week. There was no mobile reception at the campsite, so it was a perfect digital detox. We did a lot of hiking in the hills surrounding the site, including a hike up Scafell Pike, followed by dips in the natural pools on the site to freshen up as the only facilities on site were a tap and a toilet for walkers (which we used a lot so our cassette loo lasted). It really was back to basics, and we loved it.

We finally tore ourselves away from Seathwaite, mainly because we were filling up with rubbish (there are no bins on the site) and running low on food (or shops!). We headed south to another Temporary Holiday Site in Kendal. We were now in a bit of a heatwave, and we knew how to handle that – do nothing. We got the awning out, and made as much shade as possible, moving only in the evenings to wander into the town and explore – although I did make a couple of cheeky trips to the supermarket across the road to hang out in the freezer aisle for a while.

After a few days there was really only one thing for it, we made a break for the west coast hoping to find a bit of sea breeze. We stayed at Red Bank Farm in Bolton-le-Sands on Morecambe Bay. While we were there the weather finally broke which enabled us to go for long walks on the coastal path, as well as running to Morecambe for a selfie with the statue of Eric. The campsite was really busy as the schools had now broken up for their summer holidays, so we headed home for a bit of peace and quiet.

In August Zagan stayed put in his storage space while we made sure we got out and about in the Mini, visiting at least one local attraction each week, as well as popping down to Cardiff to visit friends for a few days. We also got to do a lot of running as Jay was training for a 50 mile ultramarathon, and me a half marathon, both taking place in September. I also managed to finally get something ticked off my bucket list when I appeared on Radio 2’s PopMaster quiz. I was rubbish, but I really didn’t care, I was just so pleased to get on.

Being summer it was lovely to enjoy more runs and races with our running club and before we knew it August, was gone in flash. On the bank holiday weekend we celebrated six years of early retirement by giving away our ebook – The Non-Trepreneurs, which not only tells the story of how we got to retire at 43, but also gives help and advice to others looking to do the same. We were delighted that over 700 people downloaded it for free, and also the lovely comments and reviews we’ve since received from those who read it.

September saw Jay nip to Filey for a few days with his Dad, before we got Zagan out of storage and headed over to Betws-y-Coed in Wales for Jay to run the Snowdon Ultra Marathon. I spent most of day watching his little dot moving around on a map, tracking his progress from the campsite near the start. I’m so proud of him, as it was a tough course which included an ascent of Snowdon, none of which was a marked out route, and I know navigation has never been one of his strengths. The following weekend he supported me by standing out on the course and cheering me on while I ran a personal best at the Robin Hood Half Marathon.

In October we marked 10 years since we set off on our year-long motorhome trip of a lifetime, which turned out to be two years long and a life changer. We once again left Zagan in storage and joined our friends Jon and Sue and their kids at a fantastic holiday cottage in Borth, Wales for a week. We’d got a campsite booked for later in November so we didn’t feel so bad leaving him for a while longer.

Unfortunately the tenants in our rental property told us a week before their notice was due to end that they hadn’t found somewhere else to live. They’d been in touch with the council and were told they wouldn’t be a priority on the council home list as they already had somewhere to live. After taking advice from our letting agent, we unfortunately had to start court proceedings to regain possession of the property.

In November we found ourselves with some free time now we weren’t up to our eyeballs in DIY fixing up the house, so we headed back to Spain for some winter sun. We only had a couple of weeks between running races, so we flew to Nerja and stayed in an AirBnB apartment in a different part of town. We’d got used to being part of the campsite community so it was interesting to see if we still like the place from a different place, and thankfully we did. It was also a step outside of our comfort zones as it’s been years since we’d flown abroad for a holiday – we normally drive and take our own home on wheels with us.

Unfortunately on the flight home, unbeknown to us at the time, I contracted Covid-19. We found out a few days later when after a couple of days of feeling rough and several lateral flow tests, one of them came back positive. We followed up with PCR tests, and somehow mine was positive and Jay’s negative. He tested every day while I was isolating, and virtually isolated too apart from the odd run or walk in the countryside for his sanity, and never caught it. It was like a really bad cold, but has affected my lungs a bit and also gave me brain fog. Nearly six weeks later and the lungs are getting better, and I’m slowly getting back into running, but the brain fog is still there – this has taken me ages to type as I keep forgetting words for stuff (lucky for you, Jay will have proof read it!).

Thanks to Covid we had to cancel our planned trip away in Zagan in November, so he stayed out in his storage space. With everything going on we’d not been to see him for a while and his engine battery had gone dead. Jay removed the battery and discovered a mouse nest behind it. A week or so later I popped up to check on the van and found they had moved into the habitation area. I found evidence of them on the drop down bed and in the cupboards under the kitchen sink. We’ve put down traps and caught a couple of them, so hopefully they’re gone now, but we have to keep nipping up to check. One thing is for sure, Zagan will need a lot of TLC and a big clean before we go away in him again.

With cases rising all around thanks to the new Omicron variant of Covid, Christmas has been very quiet for us this year. We took part in a Parkrun on Christmas Day morning, and then visited Jay’s Dad for a huge breakfast and my parents for a brew. We’ve now both been boosted with our third vaccines and have gotten used to stuffing a swab up our noses every few days before we see people indoors. Hopefully 2022 will see life becoming a bit more normal and motorhome travel a bit easier (as I type this we can’t currently travel to France or Germany as they have closed their borders again).

Our plans for the next year are, as always, fluid. We’re still hoping to get our house back so that we can sell it, but we suspect it might end up taking us over a year from when we made the decision to sell to actually selling. Travel plans are very thin on the ground at the moment, but we’ve talked about maybe spending summer in the Alps in Zagan, and have looked at ticking off another bucket list item with a trip to Iceland – we’re just costing up renting a small camper over there vs AirBnB, it’s not cheap but next year we both turn 50 so would be a great present for each other.

We hope you all managed to make the most of the strange year that was 2021. Have a fantastic New Year and here’s to an amazing 2022 full of fun, love and travel.

Ju x