(8) The Big Adventure (with Gordon...& Sean!)

France 🇫🇷 Belgium 🇧🇪 Holland 🇳🇱 Germany 🇩🇪 Denmark 🇩🇰 Sweden 🇸🇪 Norway 🇳🇴

So we travelled for nearly a month. We drove three and a half thousand miles in Gordon the motorhome. (Plus 400 miles in our car in England getting there and back).

>Longest day drive was 220 miles from Holland to Bremen in Germany.

>Longest drive by time was Bremen to Schleswig which should have taken 2:50 but actually took 4:30 - mainly due to terrible traffic round Hamburg.

We visited 8 countries: France, Belgium, Netherlands (Holland), Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

France 🇫🇷  Belgium 🇧🇪 Holland 🇳🇱 Germany 🇩🇪 Denmark 🇩🇰 Sweden 🇸🇪 Norway 🇳🇴

We stayed in all of these countries, apart from Belgium, for at least 1 night. We spent the longest time in Norway - which was the dream, and lived up to expectations!

Our final route was quite different from the original plan, as we decided on better things as we went along. We both got quite comfortable driving the large, heavy, tall & wide vehicle, using weird things like a gear stick, clutch, handbrake, and having to put a key in the ignition! When we got back to our automatic car, we were both trying to find the gear stick and put on the brake!

It was only on the second to last day (in France) where we encountered a bridge that we couldn't get under - leading to us having to reverse back up a small road with a queue of french drivers waiting!

After France on the way up, we saw no UK cars/vans anywhere. We only met one English couple (in Norway). On the way back we got excited to see a UK reg in a car park in Denmark - day 24 I think. More excitement to see more in Belgium and France!

It would seem most people are not crazy enough to drive all the way from England to Norway! 😂

More details of the journey (if you are interested/can be bothered!) may be accessed in 4 parts:

The first days in Gordon - HERE

The Norway time - HERE

The journey home (part 1) - (blog section 9)

The journey home (part 2) - (blog section 10)

I am so grateful, and aware of how privileged I am, for making this trip - having the opportunity, and the means to do it, and an amazing husband who planned so much. My main feeling is awe and wonder at God's marvellous creation! The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. (Psalm 19)

God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1)

Here's a few highlights!