Words From The Wild

The Road Ahead

By Lauren Eaton

I suppose it is time to unveil the plan. I’ve always wanted to sweep everything off a desk to make room for a map that I’ll use to explain the plan. Unfortunately, that doesn’t have the same dramatic effect when you’re writing, but imagine it if you will…

The last few months have been all systems go towards a full time life on the road. While this may not be the first time that I’ve been a full time nomad, it is the first time that I’ve sold up, and made such huge changes to enable the lifestyle change.

It’s not a quick process of course, selling houses is a notoriously long-winded and bureaucratic process. But, if anything is going to make you sure that you do not wish to return to the humdrum of the rat race, selling property will do it!

'No-fun February' quickly turned into 'no-fun March', and now it’s May! Ok, I have been able to spend a considerable time having some of my last adventures in Ralph, and the odd one in BJ the hippo, to help pass the excruciating periods of waiting, but there has been a lot of lifting, shifting, and paperwork. Even Neville the cat lent a paw to help.

As well as being possibly the most tedious thing I have done in many years, and I’ve sat on a dozen committees over the last few, it has been the most cathartic. Ridding yourself of extraneous 'stuff' is honestly the best feeling; it frees up space, time, money, reduces responsibility, and clears the road for an adventure, rather than a life spent weighed down by things you barely register on a day-to-day basis let alone use.

Like the typical Landy owner, I’ve amassed all sorts of related paraphernalia, but, other than tools, materials, gear and parts that may be useful in my next build, everything must go! In fact, it’s mostly already gone thanks to a continual relay of fully loaded Land Rovers visiting tips, charity shops, meeting people in car parks to sell, and limiting myself to one Land Rover full of stuff I can keep either with me or in storage.

Anything else that isn’t necessary for life on the road, or that won’t allow me the space to keep and live in my chosen vehicle, has gone.

While it feels like it has taken forever, it has only been a very short time relatively speaking. Timing is everything in life, and everything thankfully fell into place quite nicely, which was great because I had planned to be doing something very different.

The last four years I spent training, and, where possible, becoming qualified in a variety of subjects to assist the laning community. As this is no longer possible, at least directly, I intend to use the skills, knowledge, and certifications I have collected, and several more that I have completed since my foray in the laning world ended, to continue help in the public access field, as well as conservation, sustainable development, and outdoor activities.

First, I have more work to do! I will need a Land Rover to live in. The next step will be the build, and of course I’ll share this with you all.

I may have travelled a lot while in my laning role, but I can honestly say that not one day went by when I was not working for motorised rights, even when supposedly on holiday. Every trip revolved around being accessible on email, the phone, or in person to sort one laning problem or another out. So, I’m going to make up for it with bells on! And again, I will of course share those adventures with you.

As yet, I haven’t finalised the plan for the build. In the world of publishing, you are destined to be reading stuff from a month ago rather than what is happening today, and at the point of writing this, I was still finalising everything, though I did know what spec I needed to be working to:

- It has to be a Land Rover (of course, no surprises there!)

- It has to be large enough to live in full-time for a very long time, and to work from, all off-grid, but also still be a suitable laner

- It needs to sleep two, and a dog comfortably

- It has to have an off-grid power source capable of keeping batteries topped up, gadgets charged, etc.

- The living accommodation needs to be easy. By that I mean the most minimal setup and pack away time

- It needs to be suitable for wild camping - or more accurately, in-vehicle camping. Wild camping, legally speaking, isn’t sleeping in a vehicle, and while sleeping in a vehicle isn’t strictly illegal in many places, it is fraught with difficulties, many of which can be avoided by being considerate, and not announcing your presence loudly to anyone who may stumble across you

- It has to be suitably equipped for at least a month spent completely away from facilities

- It has to be a simplistic enough model that maintenance and typical repairs can realistically be done roadside or at camp by yours truly - with the exception of any major disasters of course!

- The interior needs to be easy to maintainquality, durable, and easy to clean materials put together in a high-standard overall build. This also needs to be done to ensure that if, for a reason I cannot currently imagine, I want to ever sell it

- The design needs to be something I can build myself, with the exception of things that have a safety risk such as gas and electric, or aspects I would prefer to leave to a professional such as a potential poptop roof and considerable electrical system

- Ideally, it should encompass my existing kit. This has all been tried and tested, therefore, I’d like to keep it

- Lastly, it needs to be a Tardis. The design will need to make maximum efficient use of space

Luckily, being an old hat at spending considerable periods of time living self-sufficiently out of the back of various Landy models, I have plenty of ideas, lots of experience of what works, and of course what doesn’t!

This time I can’t pop home if I fancy making any serious changes to the build, and this is the biggie; it has to work.

No build is ever really complete - adding, swapping, removing, and making changes are inevitable in the evolution of your personal idea of the perfect vehicle. I was going to say finished, but we all know they never are, but it will need to be at least fit for purpose before I can set off. Fettling is all well and good while on the road, but a major rebuild isn’t. This will be my home, therefore I won’t have the ability to move out of it to do major work, at least not without the expense of paying for accommodation.

I suppose that’s one reason for the 'holiday' to start with, it will give me time to field test everything. Before I begin working for the 'other side' and for myself (but please be under no illusions that I will never end championing motorised rights, I’ll just be coming at it from another angle), I want to make sure I have a fully functioning home on wheels. I also want a true break.

Life in the laning world was, to put it bluntly, an absolute mire of politics, game-playing, and exhausting and unnecessary drama!

I never had any interest in any of it, but had to juggle it along with the real work that needed doing. Peace is never something you will ever find on the lanes if you are seriously involved in the community, but it is something I have found since. I intend to build upon that while still helping to influence those who would happily see all 4x4 owners shot at dawn, but this time I’ll do it from the outside and away from the continuously excruciating fluff.

My motto has always been to lead by example, to walk (or drive) your talk. No one can deny your words when you can be seen to be living them, it’s how I swung many a row between the anti-4x4 types and us to our favour, but the way I can see things are going, I know that taking a new road is what is needed, both for my quality of life, but also our access rights, and I fully intend on travelling that road.

It isn’t just my living accommodation situation that has changed beyond all recognition. My career, job, personal life, and opportunities are so far removed from what they were only six months ago that I barely recognise my old life myself. It’s all good though, very much worth the extraordinary effort that has been going on behind the scenes to make way for what will undoubtedly be a very exciting new start. So, while I will make some apology that my recent columns have been something of place holders while I do the boring stuff, there will be plenty of fun stuff coming up, that I can promise you!

Next month I will reveal my choice of vehicle, Ralph will be readied for sale, and the new build work will begin. Come back to see how I get on with the biggest project that I have ever taken on!

That’s all from me this month folks! Drive safe, Lauren and Celyn x