New Beginnings

Collecting the new van was adventure in itself. The van was converted by Vanworx on the South coast of the UK which meant we had to drive almost a 1,000 mile return trip to pick it up. We decided to use a rental van to get down to Portland so that we could take some things with us, check the bikes would fit, and use the van on the way back. We ended up with a larger rental vehicle than we had asked for but at least it gave us some good practice driving a large van before we got our own.

It was great to finally see the new van the next morning. Illya couldn’t concentrate on any handover details until he made sure the bike tray he designed would work! With a few minor modifications we got the bikes fitted as planned.

For our first night we stayed close by at Portesham Dairy campsite so we could test everything properly. And the sun came out allowing us to take our first photos.

After a brief return to Vanworx for a few teething issues we headed back North. Travelling on a holiday weekend was not the best idea as there was a lot of traffic, although this did give lots of time to read every manual as well as play with all the dashboard features :). Given the long day travelling, we decided to do an overnight stop at Tebay campsite where we had a lovely picnic from the farm shop and then completed the journey home the next morning.

Now we just need to put all our stuff in it ready for our adventures to begin….