Becoming snails
Today we said goodbye to certainty, predictability and security and began our lives as nomadic spirits, wandering wherever the road takes us – experiencing life as a bird might, or a river; flowing smoothly and carefree and carrying all we need with us in our home on wheels – much like a snail does… well, if a snail was put on a scooter perhaps… Must feel incredible right? (I’m talking about the freedom, not whistling along at 15mph for the scooterised snail – although I am sure said snail would concur that said experience was incredible.)
Honestly, I’m hoping it will be incredible. But in the interests of full and frank disclosure (there are no secrets between friends, right?) Today it felt pretty terrifying. It should be freeing to not know where you are going to spend the night – but when you are used to certainty, this sudden freeing of boundaries can feel a bit like free falling. And to add to that, I’m scared of heights.
We left Alfreton at about 9am after a morning of goodbyes and last moments. Tess had her last walk, her last sniff around the garden, her last lie down on the sofa. Tom and I said goodbye to the house we have lived in since 2018 – and we were off.
Tess on her last walk in Newton this morning
Our spirits were high, the radio was blasting country music and Tess was already asleep on her bench behind the passenger seat. She’s already great at travelling although has an uncanny and annoying way of knowing when we are about to stop and demonstrates her excitement with incessant whining until we finally let her out.
A few hours of rattling and jolting down the motorways later (if you’ve driven in a motorhome, you’ll understand) we arrived in West Kirby. We knew we wanted to stay off grid, somewhere near the beach and not far from Wales and Tom had found this place on the Park4night app as a highly rated stop over. The sun was bouncing off the waves as we pulled in to the beach front parking, and although some grey clouds were amassing on the horizon, we eagerly set off for a walk.
The walk we went on takes you out on a path across the sea. There probably is a geographical term for it – a ‘péninsule path’ or a ‘tidal track’ perhaps, but to me, it’s water walk-way wizardry. When the sun hits the water, the tiny silhouetted people appear to be gliding over the surface like miniature Gods. You can actually walk on water here. Fabulous! What a sight! Okay, I think I was the only one impressed – but if you aren’t going to be pleased with the illusion of floating along above the waves, then life will have little joy for you!
It was a busy spot in the afternoon, no doubt prompted by the glorious weather. Tom got chatting to a woman fishing crabs using a little net and chunks of bacon. Unfortunately, he did not persuade her to catch us dinner but did make a really lovely asparagus ravioli, which we ate with an absolutely stunning view.
Now we head into our first evening of the nomadic lifestyle. We plan to go on another walk later, as the sun is setting (I know, tres romantic and perhaps cliched) and tomorrow, walk out to Hilbre Island – which is one of three little islands in the middle of the estuary that you can walk to at low tide. Apparently it was home to a monastery in the early medieval period. I doubt there will be any signs of that now but I am looking forward to the birds and wildlife you can apparently see from the island, including seals. I am definitely – absolutely definitely – not going to forget my binoculars…
After Hilbre Island, our plan is to cross into Wales. I think tomorrow’s park up is in the Snowdonia area before Anglesey on Monday. Something like that… But, who knows? We might end up on the road to Scotland, or heading around the South coast. That’s the great thing about becoming snails, we have all that we need with us and that is incredible. A bit scary, yes, but incredible all the same.
