'We sold our home and pulled the kids out of school to travel the world'
A couple sold their home, pulled their kids out school and went on a European road trip.
Carl and Ruth Jackson vowed to make the most of their freedom after struggling through the Covid lockdowns. The parents, both 43, made good on their word by taking their three children out of class and putting their £535k home in Swindon, Wiltshire on the market.
It sold quickly and they used the cash to buy a £60k campervan - which they then hopped in and travelled across the Continent in search of adventures. Carl and Ruth, who run a signage business, say they have no regrets - and believe kids Maisie, 11, Pippa ,10, and Marley, five, learnt more on the road than at school.
The family visited 28 different countries in total, from November 2022 to August this year. Carl said: "We had talked about going travelling since we’ve been together. But it’s one of those things you think you’ll do it, but it never happens. I was the stumbling block, but one day Ruth just said, 'Let’s go'. And then I just thought, 'Why not?'. So off we went."
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Carl, Ruth and kids Maisie, Pippa and Marley at the Colosseum in Rome (Carl Jackson / SWNS)
The family also made it up to Lapland (Carl Jackson / SWNS)The couple decided on the plan in July 2022, and managed to sell their house in the same month. They then bought a six-berth motorhome for £60,000 - complete with a tow car which goes behind it.
Carl said: "We did a dry run up to Aberdeen and stayed on a family's driveway. It all went well. When we started, we made no bookings at all. We only knew that we wanted to take the kids to Lapland."
The family set off for Calais in November 2022 and drove through France, stopping of a the war memorials at Dunkirk and Ypres. They then drove up to Scandinavia and made it up to Lapland in time for Christmas, before spending New Year in Helsinki.
They also explored eastern Europe before flying over Perth in Australia and Bali, and then making their way back Europe to check out Greece and Italy. The family had no concrete plan throughout their trip, and barely booked a thing. Instead, they say they would just "wake up and drive".
Carl said: "We followed our nose. We had a dream to show our kids more of the world and demonstrate the real world is out there after Covid. We want them to be more open-minded. Sometimes the media and news can be all dull and negative, we wanted to demonstrate to them that you can go out there and have great experiences. You also don't need shed load of money."
The pair homeschooled their kids while on the trip, and were supported by their children's school - who provided them with online resources.
Carl continued : "We arranged a meeting with the headteacher of our kids’ school and were waiting to be told off by him. He was surprisingly absolutely supportive, he even said he had done something similar.
They also jetted over to Bali (SWNS)"We have a rather more relaxed regime than their school. It’s wasn't an eight till three situation, and is three to four days a week at most, but the kids do make use of their downtime. We genuinely believe they are got a more valuable education from all these new cultural experiences."
For Maisie, Pippa, and Marley the trip was a dream - crowned by Marley getting his Top Gun t-shirt signed by Tom Cruise himself while the family were staying in Rome.
The dad added: "The kids have loved every minute of it. They have loved meeting different people and trying all sorts of different foods. They have seen diversity in all forms, including the weather.
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The family got back to England in August 2023, just in time for Maisie to start secondary school.
Their mega adventure has seen them go to France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, India, Australia, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
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