Van Log 001

Mat and I are off on our adventures down to Plymouth to train with the Royal Marines, doing our Day Skippers course and Radio License Course.

We’ll be living in our van for 2 and a half weeks, to save money and also get used to compact living.

To break up the 5 hour drive, we hit up some hill walking in South Wales.


Here’s our day:

Our first evening staying in the van was a raging success. Well, it was for me as my side of the air bed doesn’t have a slow puncture 🙊

I must admit to feeling a bit nervous about staying the van for such long time, it’s 1.2m by 2.5m. Not because of the confined space but because it is mid January and I get cold! But it was fine.

I said to MT in the morning, “I’m amazed the van hasn’t got condensation in.” To that, he scraped his nail on the inside of the roof and scratched off chunks of ice! Oh dear.

We spent 6 hours roaming around the hills in South Wales talking all things boat and having a wonderful day, walking about 12 miles with 700m of ascent in beautiful snowy conditions.

Fuelled on Extreme Foods Vanilla Protein porridge, with banana, dried coconut and seeds for breakfast, and a handful of nuts and an apple for lunch kept us going all day.
Our feet were cold but our tummies were full.

A quick food shop, a visit to a local pub to take advantage of the open fire to dry our boots, use the plug sockets to charge our electrical items and abuse the wifi, then to snuggle up and watch a DVD in bed in the van. It’s a home from home 📺

I reckon I can do this. The company helps (love heart eye emoji)

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To read the conclusion of living in a van for 2.5 weeks, click here.