Nicky & Kevin are a married couple from South Devon in the UK. They have been married for over 10 years having met through their love of running. They always had an itch to travel and now live nomadically, either in their lovely campervan, Nellie or travelling with their back packs.

Was your decision to live alternatively a sudden realisation or a build up of moments over time? 

Good question! Probably a build up of moments over time but certainly accelerated by the tragic, and sudden death of a good friend. Originally we chose van life as our way of travelling partly because we still had our aging Border Terrier, Charlie. Having a van meant he could come with us. Unfortunately, he really didn’t take to van life after 13 luxurious years on the sofa! He saw out his final months in the loving care of family.

We had that itch to travel and see the world. We were done with package holidays and set about working out a different approach to life. 

How do you approach making major life decisions?

We are pretty good at making a coffee and grabbing some snacks and tossing the ball around with major decisions. But also, we don’t rush and often a really long hike is a great time to chat about those big decisions.

Have you ever made a major life decision based on the needs or opinions of someone else?

Yes. We interrupted our travel for a while sadly, due to a serious family illness and ended up having to rent bricks and mortar to be able to be around to support. On the flipside, this time coincided with us being around the birth of our fifth grandchild. Definitely a yin and yang time for us.

What core values guide your decisions and actions in life?

We are passionate vegans and this does certainly guide our life. Being vegan also makes us hunt out areas we might not have otherwise seen. This is particularly true in towns and cities where we research vegan cafes and food outlets which might be in less touristy areas. This is also true of our love of hiking. We often walk through and around places that we’d have missed while on public transport or driving. 

We are determined to be good role models for our grandchildren and try to live as healthily as possible. We want to give them stories to tell about their unconventional Nanny and Grandad.

How have your values evolved over time?

Definitely. We became vegan later in life and it was a humbling learning process, combining our instinctive love of animals with a desire to leave a small footprint and improve our health and fitness. As we see more and more countries and cultures, our respect for the world and its peoples steadily grows.

What are your hobbies?

Well, we met through our love of fitness and we spent so much of our time hiking or running. We use both to explore everywhere we visit. We enjoy events and try to be fit enough to tackle a half marathon if the area we’re in happens to have one. Together, we have attended events all over the UK, as well as in South Africa, Jamaica, Germany, Singapore, Spain and Ireland.

We both love our literature and are compulsive readers. One of the biggest upheavals about leaving a three bedroom house to live in a van was finding a home for our 100s if not 1000s of books – we had added shelves in every room. We still love our books and read more than ever, but our Kindles do save a lot of space and weight!

Kevin plays the Ukulele, and we do carry it in the van. It is little played of late as he pursues his other passion, writing.

Nicky had been learning the piano before we set off travelling, and for a while we conjured up space for her digital (full size!) piano. Lately, Nicky has started to self teach herself to crochet and is learning at a remarkable pace.

We are blessed to enjoy peace, tranquility, and each others’ company to the point that we really don’t need all the whistles and bells of outside stimulation. We are each others’ best friend and honestly, exploring the world, at our own pace, really is enough for us.

What are you most proud of in your life so far?

Nicky: I am proud of the career I had in Social Work, I managed to train and attain my degree whilst single parenting. I am proud of my daughters. Some of my solo endurance achievements are also in my proudest moments – cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats, learning to swim later in life, then completing 10km event in the sea, and rivers.

Kevin: Removing all of the bad habits from my life, and replacing them with positive energy and pursuing my fitness goals. Becoming a healthy person who is happy to stand in front of a mirror (even the tiny one we have in the van!).

Together: We burst with pride about our grandchildren of course! We have achieved many fitness and endurance challenges, we have crossed the line hand in hand in many marathons and ultra marathons. We are proud of how we turned our life on its head and took the plunge to live this alternative and simple way. We left a comfortable, but quite predictable way of living to find adventure in our own way. We are definitely proud of that decision which felt daunting, brave and quite rare for a couple of our age! 

How do you envision your future?

Whilst touching wood……… we hope to travel deep into our old age, without tying ourselves to any decisions until the time feels right. Hopefully, we can continue to live healthily and consciously to keep on making memories and treasuring every precious moment of this life. We know only too well how fragile life can be, and we truly hope we aren’t wasting a single day of it.

What advice would you give to someone facing a major life decision?

Make the decision NOW, before it is too late. Make the decision that feels completely right for you. If there is any chance you will regret NOT making the decision then you simply must. 

We love the quote “Life turns out best for those who make the best of how life turns out best.” (John Wooden)

You can find them below!

For all things writing -> https://kevinjbonfield.substack.com/

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/packingourtrunks

Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/share/1DtZmcA4JQ/