Fearless family who to discover Europe... ‘escaped’ lockdown in their camper van
IN JULY 2020 many were struggling to navigate the pandemic and Elisa Kennedy was no exception.
Covid had forced her husband Shane Harrison’s restaurant to close.
And even though she went back to work full-time as a BBC producer after giving birth to son Hunter, now two, they were struggling to pay rent.
So when her friend sent her an article about #vanlife, it took the couple barely a few minutes to decide it was time for a change.
Just a few months later they had bought a 2006 Eura Mobil, sold many of their belongings and locked the rest away in storage, before moving the entire family of three into a camper van.
“It just felt like ‘What are we doing? This isn’t the life we wanted’,” Elisa, 45, explains.
“We went through IVF and had waited so long for this baby and now we were missing it, the early years.
“Many people have to use childminders and I would never judge someone for that.
“But I just felt I wanted to experience it all. It was a gift not to have to give him to anyone.”
They had planned to explore England first, but three days before they were scheduled to leave Boris Johnson announced the country would be going back into lockdown.
So they packed up and headed north of the border, spending several months hopping between areas that were at a lower level on the Scottish Government’s restrictions scale.
They often found themselves completely isolated at Scotland’s stunning forests, beaches and lochs, and discovered beautiful locations up the west coast, such as Ardnamurchan.
She said: “In November 2020 the rules were different everywhere you went. When we drove through a place in level four we couldn’t even stop for petrol.we had to keep going until we were back in level two.
“But this made us appreciate everything.we spent so much more time outdoors because there were no shops or pubs or major tourism sites.
“We were able to appreciate the Scottish scenery in complete peace – it was stunning.”
As lockdown got more serious in December 2020, they spent several months at Elisa’s mother’s house in Galway, Ireland, to see out the winter. But when restrictions eased off they were on the road again.
They explored England and Wales, before heading on the ferry to
Bilbao, where they have spent recent months travelling around Spain’s northern regions and enjoying some of their best moments.
“It was 8 o’clock at night and dark in the mountains, but there were loads of children still playing in the playground and Hunter was suddenly embraced by all these children, who couldn’t speak English but were fascinated by this new child.
“They spent hours playing together, communicating through play.
“Hunter was so happy and we found the town full of friendly people who welcomed these strangers.”
Life as a family in a van can have its difficulties, including the odd breakdown, so the couple ensure they make time to do things individually and escape the tight space.
“Our motor home is surprisingly
‘We take time to do our own things’
big, but it is quite old. We broke down when coming back into England from Ireland, on the ferry.
“We had to be towed all the way through Scotland into England. Thank God we had AA!
“We are 24/7 in a van together, so we do have to take time to do our own things – otherwise you are never alone. Life with a toddler is amazing but challenging.”
She added: “When we got to Spain there were five days of relentless rain where we couldn’t leave the van. I had some work at the time so I was hiding up on the bunk trying to meet a deadline, while Shane was trying to entertain a two-year-old in a tiny space.
“Shane took Hunter to town and came back with a roaring dinosaur toy! It was like living in madness.
“You have to just breath through it because getting frustrated only adds to the pressure box.”
Hunter has grown up on the road and is used to life on the move, but nothing is simple when it comes to toddlers. “He was our little baby at the start,” Elisa said. “And over the year he has grown up and now he decides what we are doing. We had a lovely few months strapping him on our backs and doing what we wanted – fast forward a year and we are seeing Spain via playgrounds.
“But it is lovely spending time with him and having these experiences. He is so good on the road and spends so much time outdoors. But he often says, ‘I’m sad about my
friends’ and oh my God my heart just breaks. He doesn’t have many friends his age. That’s why we are constantly going to playgrounds and any child we see he runs up to him. It is difficult sometimes.”
But their adventure does have an alternative agenda – to find a new home. Having realised they do not want to live in London, Elisa has successfully forged a career as a freelance producer on the road and they are now looking for the perfect place to settle down.
The plan is to stop moving around in September, pick a place, see if it fits and enrol Hunter into nursery – but not before seeing more of Europe, from France to Norway: “We love travel. We met when I was traveling in New Zealand and we’ve done lots of travelling ourselves.
“It’s in the blood.we want to instil this in Hunter, this sense of adventure and love of the outdoors.
“In Scotland Shane picked mussels on the beach and cooked them.
“These are amazing experiences. That’s the joy of the van – you can open the door and you’re there.
“I used to think I was in love with city life, with cafe culture. But I’m so much happier by the beach.
“We lived in London for 16 years, but we don’t want to bring Hunter up there. So where will we live? Where will we end up?who knows.”
‘Where will we end
up? Who knows.’
Catch up with Elisa and Shane on theiryoutube channel Pram and avan, at youtube.com