Hello
What a wonderful discovery this forum has been!
So to introduce myself, I'm a girl with a dream and a dog, trying to work out the details of how to make it happen. Having had to 'retire' from self-employment for health reasons, it now opens up the very exciting prospect of an open-ended journey with a book to write. I'll start in the uk, and see where it takes me.
Having done lots and lots of research into vans, I've decided on a van conversion. My requirements are a 6m van with two full length singles as I need to leave one made up as a bed 100% of the time - a very bad back means that driving is the only sitting time I can manage. This is hurdle number one as there aren't many of them around. I've narrowed it down to the Autotrail V-Line 610SE, but there aren't any used ones around yet. I also like the Vantage Sol, also rare. Any other suggestions welcome (I'm fussy)
My even bigger concerns though are around my best friend.....my dog. I'd welcome people's advice. As a solo traveller I have two big worries:
1) What happens if I fall seriously ill/have an accident etc? Who looks after my dog? She's a very fragile soul, health wise and emotionally, and certainly wouldn't be able to cope with emergency kennels. I wouldn't dream of leaving her behind. It's either find a solution or we don't go.
2) How do I manage times when I need to go to dog-unfriendly places such as supermarkets, pharmacies, doctors' surgeries etc? I never leave her in my car because there's such a problem with theft of dogs from vehicles these days. What do other solo travellers do?
I'm itching to get this project on the road, but my pal's welfare comes first
All advice welcome!
What a wonderful discovery this forum has been!
So to introduce myself, I'm a girl with a dream and a dog, trying to work out the details of how to make it happen. Having had to 'retire' from self-employment for health reasons, it now opens up the very exciting prospect of an open-ended journey with a book to write. I'll start in the uk, and see where it takes me.
Having done lots and lots of research into vans, I've decided on a van conversion. My requirements are a 6m van with two full length singles as I need to leave one made up as a bed 100% of the time - a very bad back means that driving is the only sitting time I can manage. This is hurdle number one as there aren't many of them around. I've narrowed it down to the Autotrail V-Line 610SE, but there aren't any used ones around yet. I also like the Vantage Sol, also rare. Any other suggestions welcome (I'm fussy)
My even bigger concerns though are around my best friend.....my dog. I'd welcome people's advice. As a solo traveller I have two big worries:
1) What happens if I fall seriously ill/have an accident etc? Who looks after my dog? She's a very fragile soul, health wise and emotionally, and certainly wouldn't be able to cope with emergency kennels. I wouldn't dream of leaving her behind. It's either find a solution or we don't go.
2) How do I manage times when I need to go to dog-unfriendly places such as supermarkets, pharmacies, doctors' surgeries etc? I never leave her in my car because there's such a problem with theft of dogs from vehicles these days. What do other solo travellers do?
I'm itching to get this project on the road, but my pal's welfare comes first
All advice welcome!