I’ll never forgive myself, but I always thought there was nothing to see in Kielder. I can only plead temporary insanity as it’s now one of my all time favourite places to visit in the van. We can park with our rear doors opening up to the trees, so it feels like we’re nestled in the forest. There’s so many different landscapes and places to potter around. It was only our last trip that we discovered these little huts hidden away near the castle, and nothing gets me going like the opportunity to photograph a hut in the woods. In fact, I hadn’t taken my camera with me when I spotted them and had to belt it back to the van before I lost the light. Absolutely sweating and chastising myself for not always having my camera on me like an amateur.
Also, we had a memorable evening as we realised too late that we’d ran out of gas for the stove. Luckily, I’m a keen over-planner and had a handy rocket stove packed away in the back of the van. A few dry twigs later and we had cups of tea and a hot dinner. Honestly, one of the smartest purchases I’ve made, and something every campervan should have packed. The only downside…. the black soot left on the pan and the coffee stovetop literally got everywhere and we had the hands of a coal miner for about a week afterwards.
If you follow along on our van instagram (link at the end of this post), you’ll know that Steven now spends his evenings carving spoons and as always he’s freakishly good at it. This inspired me to start a little Etsy shop to sell things we create on the road. I bought a little loom and have been practicing making wall hanging weaves, and it would be nice to just spend our evenings learning new skills, and hopefully making a little bit of income from them. We’ve already listed a few bits so it’d be nice if you had a look here.
