We sold our house to travel the world in a motorhome
and Rosie even gave away her wedding dress. Then, last February, they sold the house and bought the Hymer.
It has two beds for the kids, a pulldown for the adults, a kitchenette, tables and chairs.
Rosie goes on: “Loads of friends and family came over to help us set the van up and take the last few bits to the tip.
“We all had a drink together and when it was time to go, they all lined up down the road to wave us off. There were lots of tears, but the love and support we felt was incredible.”
The family took a ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo in France, before crossing the Pyrenees via Andorra, into Spain and then on to Portugal.
Rosie recalls: “We had a really surreal moment driving from Arcachon to Lourdes in France. We were hurtling down country roads through this endless, deadly flat land, when Dan and I looked up and suddenly there were the Pyrenees in front of us.
“They looked like a mirage. Snowy peaks just there in the sky.”
The family log their adventures on a Facebook blog called The Migratory Bees – and record the trip in a book.
Rosie’s highlights have included a Game of Thrones tour in Ireland and spending Winter’s fifth birthday in December riding camels in the Sahara.
Christmas was spent in the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco.
GRATEFUL
Rosie explains: “It was the most relaxed we’ve ever had. The children only had a few presents, but they were so happy and grateful.
“We went out for a meal in a Chinese restaurant and just took the day slowly. Of course we missed our family but we loved our plan-free day.”
Rosie estimates they can survive until September, when they will need to take odd jobs as they travel. She says: “We’ve tried to be savvy, to keep going as long as possible. I don’t worry about the future, as I’ve had nothing and worked my way out of it before.”
Rosie believes that seeing the world is giving her children a better education than if they were in a classroom.
And she has been touched by the camaraderie among travellers, saying: “Everybody helps each other. Once, Monty came to the rescue of a couple who had locked themselves out, as he was small enough to climb through their motorhome’s skylight.
“Another time we set up what we called the Beeson barbershop, cutting hair for people on our campsite.”
So where to next? Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark are all on the cards.
And Rosie insists that won’t be as tiring as it sounds.
“Dan and I used to spend our evenings exhausted at home,” she says.
“But now we sit outside our motorhome in a beautiful corner of the world and watch nature go by. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”