Over 100,000 KM ON THE ROAD across 17 countres
We are Willow & Lee, two ex-teachers from the UK who left there normal lives behind to travel in Ruby, our tiny old van. What started as a twelve month road trip, continued into a multi-year and multi-continent adventure.
We have no end date, no plan and (on several occasions) no engine. Come and join the chaos!
Willow
Willow grew up in the South of England and had plans to become some kind of artist. She studied jewellery design at university in Birmingham and it was in this city where she met Lee. Until then, as much as she wanted to travel, the thought of living in a van had never even crossed her mind.
To prepare for the idea of life on the road, she took a college course in mechanics and then accidentally became a full time college teacher in subject for 4 years while she turned Ruby into a running vehicle.
She's in charge of keeping the wheels turning, handles most of the logistics and also writes the blog.
Lee
Lee lived in Birmingham all his life and couldn't wait to get out and see the world. He's worked in jobs ranging serving burgers and bricklaying all the way property management and recruitment.His main qualification however, is as primary school teacher.
He hadn't travelled much before he met Willow, but he was adamant that they if they went anywhere, it should be in the iconic vintage VW bus and after a lot of hard work, the dream was made a reality.
He manages all the social media as well as filming and editing all the YouTube videos. He's also responsible for a lot of the route planning.
Ruby
Ruby is 1976 late bay Volkswagen from Germany. She was imported to the UK from Hungary and then sold on Gumtree as the repairs she needed were so substantial. She was bought in 2015 by a rather naive Willow & Lee, looking for a cheaper way to get their foot in the door. When they realised how much work she needed, she was moved to Willow's college where she stayed for 18 months undergoing enormous repairs to her bodywork and mechanical systems.
At the same time, her stock 2 litre air cooled engine was converted to a more modern Subaru. Once she was road legal, she was fitted with a new pop-top conversion and then her entire interior was built from scratch as Willow's dad had a wood workshop down in East Sussex.
In 2018, she set off to Scotland for her first proper test run and then the following year she spent three weeks exploring the south of France. None of these trips went particularly smoothly, in fact the return from France blew up the gearbox.
Nevertheless, in 2019 she was optimistically bundled onto a boat from Southampton, bound for New York and she has been breaking down ever since.
Despite her tiny size, she is a surprisingly well equipped off grid vehicle and doesn't let her 50 years get in the way of exploring some of the hardest locations these continents have to offer.
Aimee
Aimee is the original van kitty!
She was rescued from a kill shelter in Washington D.C in November 2019. At 6 weeks old, she had been born roughly at the time this whole trip started.
She's got to be one of the best travelled cats out there as she has been with there right from the start. She's a seasoned traveller and knows exactly how to get her way on the road and won't tolerate any of your rubbish.
Her hobbies include destroying the mosquito nets, biting and exploring, in detail, any other vehicle that comes anywhere near her.
Lexi
Lexi was rescued at 6 weeks old in Quito, Ecuador back in 2 She was being offered for free on Facebook as part of an unwanted litter of kittens.
She slotted right into life on the road and has 8 countries so far. She currently is in her terrible teen phase, and absolutely cannot be reasoned with.
Her hobbies include using the roof windows as her own personal hammock, bothering Aimee when she goes to the toilet and getting herself into the most ridiculous sleeping positions known. She's the baby of the team and an absolute sweetheart.