** Guest Post ** Jacqueline Lambert, Award-Winning Travel Humour Writer, Nomad, & Dogmother

Like many travellers, I used to think that “adventure” had to involve at least a long-haul flight or a whiff of diesel at some questionable third-world border crossing. As a UK citizen, I can’t believe I saw New Zealand before I visited Scotland. Why did I go halfway around the world when I had THAT on my doorstep?! Yet, so often, we dismiss our doorstep in the mistaken belief that we can only find amazing landscapes, excitement, and cultural enrichment in exotic, faraway lands.

That’s not to say I never had grand plans to explore my home turf. I was saving it for my frail dotage – for when I was too old and decrepit to backpack around Asia or overland through Kazakhstan. I had Britain earmarked as a retirement plan. Gentle, leisurely – and filled with lashings of tea and cake. My husband, Mark, and I quit work in 2016 to become full-time nomads. Initially, we toured Europe in a caravan (RV trailer) with our four dogs. Then in 2020, Brexit – Britain’s exit from Europe – jeopardised our freedom of movement and prompted me to utter a life-changing sentence to my beloved: “Let’s go to Mongolia!” This Brexit-busting plan led to a hasty impulse purchase. We bought The Beast, a colossal 6×4-wheel-drive ex-army truck, blind off the internet. Our intention: to create a ‘Go Anywhere’ expedition vehicle to replace our trusty trailer, since we were fairly sure Caravan ‘Kismet’ (‘Fate’) would not survive the Gobi Desert.

Then COVID struck. Lockdowns were an opportunity to build our Beast, and imagine ourselves crossing deserts, mountain passes, and possibly sinking into a Mongolian marsh. What we didn’t imagine was a pandemic closing every border except the one around our own driveway. After eighteen months of blood, sweat, and Sikaflex adhesives, we triumphantly rolled out in our fully off-grid home-on-wheels – only to discover that the furthest we could legally travel was our own native land.

At first, this felt like gearing up to conquer Everest, before being dispatched to the kiddies’ climbing wall at the local leisure centre. But once we hit the road, something surprising happened. We fell back in love with an old flame. We already knew that the UK – our own backyard – was staggeringly beautiful. But like the girl next door, she’d always been there, languishing quietly in the wings. Familiarity meant that we not only failed to notice her unique charms; we took them completely for granted. In all my global travels, I’ve not found anywhere that comes close to the variety of landscapes, culture, and history crammed into so small an area. Britain is an unbelievably compact marvel. Packed onto an island three times smaller than the US state of Texas you’ll find rugged mountains, sandy beaches, windswept cliffs, tranquil lakes, ancient forests, rolling downs, and stark moorland. There are vibrant cities, picture-perfect villages, and historical sites whose timescales span from the present back into prehistory. Although I’ve stood on six of the seven continents, my favourite view on Earth remains the incredible 360-degree panorama from the top of Hengistbury Head near Christchurch in Dorset.

Forced into a British odyssey in a ludicrously unsuitable vehicle, we discovered graffiti scratched by a soldier sending a message down the centuries, a tiny hamlet of 35 residents that almost changed the course of Britain’s history, and a sleepy market town that was England’s first capital – and home to a flying monk, the country’s earliest tiger casualty, and an internationally famous medieval chronicler. Too frequently, the familiar becomes invisible – until a sudden jolt compels you to look again. I spent so long hurling myself across continents in search of shock and awe that I overlooked the wonders waiting right outside my front door. Touring Britain was every bit as rewarding, exciting, and gloriously unpredictable as any safari to distant lands.

Our journey taught me that adventure isn’t a postcode – it’s a mindset. It’s about curiosity, openness, and saying, “Yes!” to whatever’s around the next corner. Even if that corner takes you to Corby rather than Kazakhstan. So, if you’re saving your own doorstep ‘for later’, why not think again? Grab your boots, fuel up your van, stick your pooch on a lead, and go.

Now! You never know. The hidden beauty of your backyard might just surprise you!

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