About Me

My photo
Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Saturday April 11th 2015 - J is for Just wandering

This post is part of the A - Z Challenge.

One of the things I like about solo camping is the freedom to go where I like when I like, without having to consider the thoughts and opinions of someone else. Although I usually start each day with a definite destination in mind that's as far as any real planning goes - once I leave the tent I could end up anywhere between the camp site and the place I'm actually heading for. Many times I've been driving along a road to somewhere, seen a sign for a place I've never heard of or which sounds intriguing, and made a spur of the moment decision to veer off my route and follow the sign - and I've rarely been disappointed with what I've found.

When I do finally get to my chosen destination I'll find somewhere to park the van then just wander about looking for photo opportunities. My random wanderings have taken me down side streets, alleyways, lanes and footpaths, and I've discovered and photographed places I wouldn't otherwise have known about. In fact only a few days ago I was wandering round a harbour in North Wales when I saw a lane; I didn't know how far it went but I decided to walk along and see what was at the end of it. The lane eventually turned into a footpath which took me through a small hamlet of houses, and at the far side was a lovely sandy bay with colourful cottages and a stream running across the beach. I didn't find out until later what the little place was called but I got several good photos which I wouldn't otherwise have got, so it just shows that rather than having a definite plan or route in mind it often pays to go just wandering.