World Wide Walkies

10 Things I’ve Learned from Life on the Road

My husband, Mark and I, packed up our life in 2016 to embark on a 3-year trip in our caravan (RV trailer.)

Nine years into that 3-year trip, it seems we underestimated how addictive travel could be.

So here we are, still touring, but in The Beast, a rather more rugged 6×4-wheel drive ex-army vehicle we converted to take us even further off the beaten path.

When we set out, we were complete newbies, but in the intervening time, we’ve picked up a few tips. Here, I want to share with you some of the lessons we’ve learned from life on the road.

A picture of three children, including author Jacqueline Lambert as a child in the centre, standing at the front of an old fashioned 1960s home built caravan — My brothers & I with the caravan my grandad built.
When Mark & I started out, this was the sum total of our caravanning experience!

Did You Miss Any Of These? Monthly Round Up June 2025

Photo of a large bull nosed AMF truck with The Beast, author Jacqueline Lambert's bull nosed Volvo N10 camper conversion

Wow! Time flies and here we are, half way through the year.

It’s been a busy month. We’re currently in the UK escaping Schengen, as well as catching up with friends and inter-trip administration, such as doctors, dentists, vet visits (for the dogs!), truck maintenance, and applying for a Schengen-busting French Long Stay Visa. If you’re interested in beating the 90/180 day Schengen rule, that’s a post you won’t want to miss!

The Fab Four, four fluffy cavapoo dogs, sitting in front of a chalk downland landscape on top of Adam's Grave Long Barrow in Wiltshire on a beautiful sunny day — The Fab Four sitting on Adam’s Grave, a neolithic long barrow in the ancient chalk downland landscape of Wiltshire

How to Apply for a Long-Stay French Visa (VLS-T): A Quick Schengen-Busting Guide for UK Travellers

A visa stamp to illustrate applying for a French visa

Since Brexit, UK citizens can no longer come and go freely in the EU (European Union).

Instead, the 90/180 rule applies, which limits stays within the entire EU Schengen Visa-Free Zone to 90 days in every rolling 180-day period. Since the Schengen zone now comprises twenty nine EU and non-EU countries and covers most of Europe, it can make long-term travel tricky.

Getting Around the 90/180 Rule

There are two ways to get around the 90/180 rule, which we will look at in this post.

A colour coded map showing EU Schengen Zone countries in dark blue, non-EU Schengen Zone countries in pale blue, EU member states outside the Schengen Area in green, and EU Member states bound to implement the Schengen Agreement in yellow, — Schengen Area Map: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source Schengenzone.svg

The Ultimate Road Trip Planning Guide for Campers, Motorhomes & Trucks

A lady sitting on a suitcase in the middle of a dirt road studying a map with a globe by her side planning her adventure a bit late!

Planning a trip involves more than just picking a route and packing snacks.

Before you hit the road, make sure your adventure doesn’t stall at the first border. From baffling border insurance and weird laws with heavy fines, to paperwork pitfalls and drug dos and don’ts, a bit of preparation can save a lot of stress.

You don’t know what you don’t know — and when crossing borders, that can cost you dearly. Sometimes, even common items like everyday over-the-counter painkillers, which seem innocuous at home, can lead to hefty fines or even jail time abroad. Read this guide and you will be able to enjoy an adventure filled with freedom and fun, rather than fines!

A HUGE thank you to those who attended my two talks at this year’s National 4×4 & Camper Festival. The first, entitled Big Builds for Big Adventures was a no holds barred account of how we built our truck, The Beast. You can read more about that, including a few videos, in the Expedition Truck section of my blog, or in my multi-award-winning book, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper.

The second talk, Never Mind the Baltics — Let’s Talk Full-Time Travel (& Dogs!) was a guide to expedition planning. I overran my time slot and asked my audience if they wanted me to carry on. They said, “Yes” – so I did until the cleaners kicked me out. We then repaired back to the truck for a private session, since a few of the attendees still wanted to know more! I also received an invite tp speak at an adventure club in London, so watch this space.

Since the audience found the information so useful, I thought I would post it here for posterity, and so that anyone who was unable to make the show or my talk can learn from the experience we’ve gained from our nine years on the road full-time, during which we’ve visited almost every country in Europe!