Another long-distance video call & the conversation of cycling around Cuba came up. From that moment the wheels of our life of adventure were set firmly in motion. We had no idea of what exactly was to come & where our journey would take us, we simply trusted ourselves & went with it.

That was back in 2016 with Kelly travelling solo in Colombia & Adam spending a winter season working & skiing in Canada. The first months of our relationship were spent thousands of miles apart & kept alive via FaceTime & because of our connection with each other, which was deep from the very start.

The cycling trip went ahead, our blog was born & since then we have moved into our tiny home on wheels, built our online business on the road & have even planned our wedding & said “I do” along the way.

Together we decided to become a van life couple &, to take The Wilder Route, & this, is our story….

From Cycle Tour to Van Life Couple - This is our story - The Wilder Route.Image shows Kelly & Adam standing on the steps of some ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico.

The Foundations Of The Wilder Route

It was a cold November evening in Cheshire, England & we were sat at our laptops researching for our upcoming trip to Cuba. We had booked ourselves a 4-week long intensive Spanish course after which we were due to start our independent cycle tour.

That’s when the idea of starting a blog came up, discovering an article on how to start a travel blog we followed the steps & created our first website. To be honest, back then we didn’t have a clue what travelling blogging entailed, it just felt right to start a blog so we did.

Destination Addict was the name we began with & kept right up until recently. Since then our blog has evolved along with our lifestyle, so to align with that we’ve recently rebranded to bring you, our readers & followers, The Wilder Route.

We’ll cover more on where we are at right now shortly, but first, let’s go back to Cuba.

 

A Wild Adventure

Armed with a couple of second-hand bikes & a one-way ticket to Havana we were excited & nervous about what lay ahead. After completing 4-weeks of Spanish school, we hit the road laden with everything we needed for our epic adventure.

Or at least we thought so, frankly, after day one & too much weight on our bikes, we ditched half our stuff before cycling on.

Just the two of us, peddling over four hundred kilometres – through remote villages & untouched landscapes. It was truly off-the-beaten-path & we loved it.

We navigated, pushed through the pain & faced the challenges that came up… together.

That time in Cuba was not only an incredible experience but it taught us so much about ourselves, about each other & shed a whole new light on the way we wanted our lives to be.

Knowing we wanted to be closer to nature & to live life a little differently, our adventure was destined to continue.

A Wild Adventure - Cycling in Cuba - The Wilder Route. Image shows the front of a bike with open road in front of it with the sun rising.
Adventure Couple Kelly & Adam at The Wilder Route. Images shows us on our bikes cycling in Cuba.
Cycling in Cuba - The Wilder Route. Image shows our bikes by the side of a lake in Cuba.

More Adventures & A Magical Proposal

After Cuba, we spent the next ten months soaking up the vibrance of Mexico, hiking up volcanoes in Guatemala, taking in the wild scenery of Canada & experiencing the beauty & diversity of Colombia.

Atop a mountain, above Lake Louise in Alberta Canada, came the most amazing proposal. After sharing & experiencing so much together, our next chapter was here & we were both so thrilled to embrace it.

A magical proposal - The Wilder Route. Image shows Kelly & Adam atop a mountain with a blue lake below them, Adam is on one knee in front of Kelly, he is holding her just under her arms, she has her arms around his neck, they are looking at each other & smiling, they have just got engaged.
Exploring & Travelling in Mexico - The Wilder Route. Image shows Kelly sat above a Mayan temple her back is to the camera & her arms are outstreched.
Exploring & Travelling in Guatemala - The Wilder Route. Image shows the view over a lake with volcanoes in the distance.
Exploring & Travelling in Colombia - The Wilder Route. Image shows Adam stood with his back to the camera, he is looking out over a misty view with tall plam trees.

Briefly Back To ‘Reality’

After a year of full time travel, we returned to our home country of the UK.

With the feeling of exploration in our souls, we knew we wanted to carry on building a life that kept us closer to nature, a life that made adventure part of our every day.

We came up against a lot of pressure, from family & friends who wanted to know “when we were going to return to the real world?” Living in the same way, however, as mostly everyone we knew wasn’t something that we had a desire to do.

We had the taste of something different & the next step was figuring out how to keep that going.

 

Starting Life As A Van Life Couple

Selling most of our belongings & packing the rest of what we owned into our tiny home on wheels, van life became the next step of our journey.

By this point, our blog had started to do well & we had launched our digital marketing business The Green Thread which meant that we were able to earn a living entirely online.

Our dream of a location-independent lifestyle, working & adventuring wherever we choose, became our reality.

Starting life as a van life couple - The Wilder Route. Images shows our motorhome parked by a lyn (lake) in the mountains of Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

A Nomadic Lifestyle

Living in our motorhome together took some getting used to – travelling together is one thing but travelling together, living in a tiny space & running a business on the road, well that’s a whole different story.

We headed into Europe seven months before we were due to get married in Italy in June of 2019 & spent our first year of van life exploring amazing places & each morning, waking up to a different view.

Living in our van has made travel an integral part of our lives & for that, we feel so free & grateful.

A nomadic lifestyle, exploring the French Pyrenees - The Wilder Route. Image shows Adam walking through a castle at sunrise.
A nomadic lifestyle, driving in Austrias, Spain - The Wilder Route. Image shows our motorhome parked by the side of the road in the mountains.
A nomadic lifestyle, exploring the Breton coast in France - The Wilder Route. Image shows Kelly walking along a costal path towards some rock formations.

Our Lake Wedding

After months of planning we arrived at Lake Garda in the north of Italy, a month before we were due to get married.

Our closest friends & family travelled to be with us on our special day & for us it was perfect. By this point, we had seen & achieved so much as a couple & we were so excited for what our lifelong commitment to each other would bring.

Our Lake Wedding - photo credit to Sara Lancini - The Wilder Route. Image shows us in our wedding atire above Lake Garda Italy, we are smiing at each other & stood by an olive tree.

Photo credit to the incredible Sara Lancini.

Life As A Married Van Life Couple

Since getting married we have continued to live in our van & have carried on exploring. In addition to building our blog & our digital marketing business, we also, in 2019, inspired by our love of nature & adventure, launched our very own organic clothing range Nature Threads.

We often get asked how we manage to live the way we do as a couple. Having shared interests & values in the way we want our lives to be is what keeps that spark alive.

 

Van Life In Recent Times

Like most, for us recent times have brought with them quite a bit of uncertainty. We’ll be honest, we weren’t sure if our business would survive or if life in our van would remain feasible but here we are, still living in Barnaby with our online business alive & well.

It just goes to show really that there is an element of the unknown in everything & choosing a life that’s a little outside of the norm isn’t necessarily guaranteed or vice versa. The most important thing for us is that we stay true to our values & continue living in a way that’s purpose driven.

Exploring the coast of Cornwall in our van - The Wilder Route. Image shows Kelly stood atop a cliff looking out over the ocean.
Van Life Couple - The Wilder Route. Image shows Kelly & Adam wrapped up warm whilst out for a walk, they are looking at the camera & smiling.
Van life in Cornwall - The Wilder Route. Image show Adam coming out of the ocean walking uo a beach in his wetsuit.

Rebranding To Bring You The Wilder Route

Near or far, the more we explore, the deeper our connection with nature becomes. We have rebranded from Destination Addict to The Wilder Route to bring you, our readers & followers, not only stories from our travels & adventures past & present but also our story of motorhome life & what it means to live amidst nature.

We are hugely passionate about helping & inspiring others to explore, connect with nature &, live alternatively.

 

Inspiration To Start Your Journey

For many living a location-independent lifestyle is the stuff of dreams, something far removed from reality but we beg to differ – we don’t have anything ‘special’ that’s enabled us to achieve all that we have. We have simply made choices that have got us here.

Keeping a vision in mind of the way we wanted our lives to be, working hard & adapting & changing – all to create this life for ourselves, this is how we’ve done it.

We have been featured in publications such as Wanderlust Magazine & Housesitting Magazine & spoken at events such as Destinations Shows, Borderless Live & The Caravan & Motorhome Show about living a location-independent lifestyle – which, back on our sofa , when we started our blog in 2016, we wouldn’t have dreamed was possible.

But we have done it & if you have the desire, so can you.

We hope you have enjoyed learning more about us & that our story will help to inspire your journey.

If you have any questions you can always email us at hello@thewilderroute.com

Or get social with us on any of our channels.

Travel & Adventure Couple Kelly & Adam - The Wilder Route. Image shows us sat on a beach with some rocky cliffs behind us.

Ciao for now fellow wild soul,

Kelly & Adam x

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