Thanks Steve- much appreciated! Really glad that we can help fill up other peoples bucket lists as ours seems to be constantly being refilled with new places that we are inspired to go! It's never easy...but it is great fun! Thanks for the comment👍
Superb video, we saw puffins whilst on a boat trip to the Farne Islands (Longstone) towards the end of July, but they were either on the sea or flying at low level. Your experience was wonderful. We look forward to following in your campervan steps to the Shetland islands one day soon 😀🚐❤️ xxx
Thanks Janet- it really was magical at this time of year. The Puffins combined with the weather and the long hours of daylight was wonderful. We are going to find it hard to resist a return journey in the future.
Thanks Bryony- you can probably tell that we had a brilliant time with all the wildlife opportunities. We have been to Mull a couple of times and absolutely loved it, but not to Lunga- we will look into it as we are already thinking of the location for our Puffin fix for next year😂 Have a great week👍
Hi Julie- we were really worried that we would have missed them. If its any consolation we spent a very windy weekend last year on the Yorkshire coast at Bempton Cliffs and only saw 2 fleetingly from miles away😂 It was only really their orange feet that gave them away! We have a few additional locations for sightings in our future videos. We have absolutely loved our time in Shetland. It is a commitment to get that far north, but well worth the effort. We have it already marked down for a return visit, but lots to do before then😂 Thanks for the comment. 👍
Just when I was thinking the budgie smugglers were staying in the cupboard…there they were! Silly me thinking you guys weren’t going to brave those cold waters 😂😂 well done 🏆 We love puffins and could never tire of watching them. Last year we went to Skomer Island and were thoroughly spoilt with thousands (had to be careful not to trip over some of them 😂) and many wandering about with huge wads of fish. An amazing experience 😊 Shetland looks fabulous - would you say the ferry cost was worth it instead of going to the Hebrides?
The budgy smugglers seem to wind their way on every trip! It was not the warmest waters we have been in 😂 We have Skomer island in our sights for next year puffin season. We have loved the Shetland Islands and would say some of the beaches are just as beautiful as the Outer Hebrides. They are not as long but the colours are stunning. The cliffs are much prettier and more dramatic on Shetland and we liked the ease of the island hopping. I suppose we were extremely lucky to have 2 weeks of sunshine but we would come back in a heartbeat. It is so much quieter and remote - although mainland Shetland did have Lerwick which was much bigger than I anticipated. In answer - I would say it was worth it to us particularly as we had 4 weeks but we have spent about another £130 on island hopping ferries on the trip.
Being quieter than the Hebrides is a huge plus for me. There’s nothing like having a beach all to yourself! Skara Brae has been on my list since I was about 10, so I might as well do Shetland as well 😂 Skomer is fabulous but you have to get the timing right and book ahead, it’s very popular and visitor numbers are limited 👍
Thanks Tina- the effort to get here is defiantly worth it. The puffins are just good for the soul...sitting and watching them just lifts our hearts. We have spent so many hours on this trip in absolute awe of their presence and their characters. The sound of their little chatter to each other will stay with us for life❤️
You are quite welcome Peter. If you hadn't guessed- we are absolutely loving this trip- it has really surprised us and far surpassed our expectations. Have a great week👍
Brilliant video, you really hit it off with the weather. I do fancy trying those chilli dogs!. Did you hear screaming when you went into the water and wondered what it was, then you realised IT WAS YOU. BRRRRRRR
Cheers - we have had the luck of the Gods with us for the whole 4 week trip! Just a couple of really windy days on Orkney. Chilli dogs are one of Richards favourites!! I could definitely hear myself squeal as I got in the water - it was freezing - but lovely and warm when we got out on the beach to recover.
We have absolutely loved both the Shetlands and the Orkneys but do recognise that the amazing weather we have had will certainly have helped. We couldn't believe how stunning the Shetland beaches are.
Thanks for this Gillian- we have been really surprised as we didn't really know what to expect. I think that the weather has certainly helped, but it is such a wild and remote place. We love it! Have a great week👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust All good with me thanks. Just starting the final week of a 3.5 week house and dog sit in Hampshire, then I'll be back in sunny Skipton.
Lovely video and looks so peaceful. Defo on my list. Did you see the lighthouse of MUCKLE FLUGGA which was from the fragile rock kids show many years ago?? Safe travels. Jonathan
Hi Jonathan. We did...more of that in the next video. It was on my bucket list for a while (not for the Fraggle Rock reason😂), and we had a perfect, if very windy day for it. It's a very wild place, as you would expect from so far north. Have a great week👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust fantastic news and I can’t wait to see it. By the way it’s so nice of you to reply to these messages. I know how busy you are. Stay safe.
Terrific video. At last I've finally found a couple of travellers who can film well and use words like dichotomy! Thar said, you were lucky with the weather. I'm tod it can blow somewhat. Cheers, your latest fan.
Thank you! Richard does love his filming and looking out for interesting perspectives - most of it is actually done on our iPhone 11's! The weather for most of our 4 week trip has been pretty good which we were not expecting! We have had a couple of really windy days on Orkney. Glad you are enjoying the channel. 😊
Great video guys. We do love seeing the puffins, they are fascinating little birds for sure. You have found some fabulous beaches too and Bridge End campsite looks in a lovely location. Go easy with that axe Jackie as we wouldn’t want you to be getting injured lol. Keep safe. Irvine & Karen.
Hi you two, as you can guess, we had a great time with the Puffins. It has been a long time coming and we fully immersed ourselves in the experience. Don't worry, Jackie is the fire master in our household and she knows what she is doing🙏 Have a great weekend. 👍
Great video again 😍 love Monday morning wake up with your videos. Chilli hot dog you should try substitute chilli for curry powder and there you have another variety of hot dogs, delicious.
Thank you - Scotland is the most beautiful country to explore - you will love it. The midges have been ok - just one night on Hoy when it was really still at dusk and then the pesky little critters came out in full force!
We were really surprised at how fabulous the beaches are on Shetland and the islands! They are not as long as the beaches on the outer Hebrides - generally tucked away in small coves - but I really liked that. There are LOTS of them with beautiful white sand and clear waters. I could watch the puffins for hours they are so comical and curious and they chat away to each other with a really sweet groaning sound.
The beaches are lovely and we couldn't get over how many stunning beaches there were! They are not as long as on the Hebrides and tend to be in small coves but have lovely white sand and clear water. The puffins are so comical and curious little creatures - they chat away to each other with this really sweet little groaning sound.
@@earlyretirementwanderlust so exciting to be visiting the less explored parts of the British Isles. Hope Orkney and the islands are as interesting and that the weather holds.
Hi Jill- no history teaching for me...just a guilty pleasure in later life! I think I had possibly the worst history teachers at school as I was never switched on by the subject. However I love the history that surrounds us and just geek out on it on our travels. Thanks for the comment. Have a great week👍
Thank you for the video. The Shetlands are another place on our radar. We are off to the Isle of Arran in a couple of weeks. You were lucky with the weather. Do you always wild camp?
Thank you - The Shetlands were wonderful. As is Arran - we spent 2 weeks on Arran last September and loved it! We went in early September and had amazing weather. Lochranza campsite was great with the deer coming to visit in the night and there are a couple of great coastal hikes around there and we climbed goat fell which had the most incredible views. There is also an honest box bakery in Blackwaterfoot which had great cakes when we were there. On Arran we did a combination - there are a couple of great Park up spots on P4N especially down the west coast by the beaches. We also used the Seal Shores campsite which was great and we would have stayed at the motorhome aire by the Auchrannie hotel had we been more organised and booked a spot! Have a great trip 🚐
@@earlyretirementwanderlust Thanks for the response. We are only doing three days there, saying at the Seal Shore site. When we get back to the mainland, we may head for the Orkneys.
Sounds like you are living the dream, and doing great on RUclips too 👍. I was wondering, when you are camped up in the middle of nowhere as you said, did it take you long to feel safe to sleep, or do you have any tips for this side of things? I’ve never done it, but looking at your videos it sounds like it could be a lot of fun.
Thanks for these lovely words. We are definitely loving what we are doing at the moment! Wilder park-ups take a while to get used to but we try to follow some simple personal rules: 1. No photos on P4N app- we don't stay. 2. Check out all the reviews on the P4N app. 3. If we feel uncomfortable when we get there, we move on and look for another spot. 4. We generally feel more comfortable if another van is there. 5. We avoid cities or rural locations close to cities. 6. We try to make sure we have phone signal. 7. We never camp close to houses- it's just not fair on the locals. 8. We know how to deadlock our van when we are in it without setting the alarm off! We haven't had any problems to date in over 750 nights...not to say that it won't happen...but so far so good. We see a lot of vanlife sensationalism about safety concerns on social media, but we have experienced nothing like what is portrayed in over 6 years of van ownership. Hope that this helps? 👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust That's great information thank you for sharing. I am really enjoying your videos, and the way they are presented. They give off the right 'vibe' for the lifestyle you are sharing. The videos are giving me ideas for when I manage to get to retirement. Any potential videos on budgeting, or even the prep that went in to funding the lifestyle? I recognise you flagged not being able to access pensions until 55. So must be stressful, without a plan and budget, to see your savings going down?
Hi I think we had an ideal amount of time on each set of islands. 2 weeks on the Shetland islands and 2 weeks on Orkney. It would depend on how much you wanted to island hop as that obviously takes time - particularly on Orkney as some of the ferries are still over an hour. We didn’t get to see all the islands we wanted. I would say 10-14 days especially as it is such a long and expensive ferry ⛴️ 🚐
Great video guys, have watched all your old ones and am now right up to date. We are 43 and planning on early retiring around 55 but as the government are changing in 2028 that you will have to be 57 before we can take our pension we will have to also rely on savings. I'm off to a festival next week to volunteer for 5 days. Gets me all my food for the 5 days shower and toilet facilities in exchange for my time. I also get two tickets to the festival for free. You should look into it Definitely makes the money stretch further. .. Help set up the festival all food etc included. .. A weekend ticket then to enjoy and then I'm off to the next one to help with and for nearly a month I won't need to buy any food etc and enjoy a couple of festivals for free. If you like the idea of volunteering and something free back In return you should check it out.
Thank you - glad you are enjoying our channel. I hadn't realised it was so soon that the government is making the changes to retire at 57! We have seriously thought about doing a festival season one year just for the experience as much as any thing else so were interested in your comment. Thanks 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust definitely look into it some are a small deposit that you get back once you have done the hours some it's free. I just put the money back into the festival pot so it's there for the next one. The one I'm doing this week it's half the price for the deposit next year.
Really love your well presented videos and this is somewhere we will add to our future bucket list. Keep up the great work 😊
Thanks Steve- much appreciated! Really glad that we can help fill up other peoples bucket lists as ours seems to be constantly being refilled with new places that we are inspired to go! It's never easy...but it is great fun!
Thanks for the comment👍
Superb video, we saw puffins whilst on a boat trip to the Farne Islands (Longstone) towards the end of July, but they were either on the sea or flying at low level. Your experience was wonderful. We look forward to following in your campervan steps to the Shetland islands one day soon 😀🚐❤️ xxx
Thanks Janet- it really was magical at this time of year. The Puffins combined with the weather and the long hours of daylight was wonderful. We are going to find it hard to resist a return journey in the future.
It's spectacular!
It surpassed all our expectations 😊
Shetland is stunning. You got great wildlife!
Have you been to Mull? Great "puffin therapy" on the trip to Lunga in the Treshnish Isles 🙂
Thanks Bryony- you can probably tell that we had a brilliant time with all the wildlife opportunities. We have been to Mull a couple of times and absolutely loved it, but not to Lunga- we will look into it as we are already thinking of the location for our Puffin fix for next year😂
Have a great week👍
Puffins are elusive! We went to Orkney last year,so wanted to see one. nothing !!!! Oh well. Shetland looks good, would like to try that too
Hi Julie- we were really worried that we would have missed them. If its any consolation we spent a very windy weekend last year on the Yorkshire coast at Bempton Cliffs and only saw 2 fleetingly from miles away😂 It was only really their orange feet that gave them away!
We have a few additional locations for sightings in our future videos.
We have absolutely loved our time in Shetland. It is a commitment to get that far north, but well worth the effort. We have it already marked down for a return visit, but lots to do before then😂
Thanks for the comment. 👍
Just when I was thinking the budgie smugglers were staying in the cupboard…there they were! Silly me thinking you guys weren’t going to brave those cold waters 😂😂 well done 🏆
We love puffins and could never tire of watching them. Last year we went to Skomer Island and were thoroughly spoilt with thousands (had to be careful not to trip over some of them 😂) and many wandering about with huge wads of fish. An amazing experience 😊
Shetland looks fabulous - would you say the ferry cost was worth it instead of going to the Hebrides?
The budgy smugglers seem to wind their way on every trip! It was not the warmest waters we have been in 😂 We have Skomer island in our sights for next year puffin season.
We have loved the Shetland Islands and would say some of the beaches are just as beautiful as the Outer Hebrides. They are not as long but the colours are stunning. The cliffs are much prettier and more dramatic on Shetland and we liked the ease of the island hopping. I suppose we were extremely lucky to have 2 weeks of sunshine but we would come back in a heartbeat. It is so much quieter and remote - although mainland Shetland did have Lerwick which was much bigger than I anticipated. In answer - I would say it was worth it to us particularly as we had 4 weeks but we have spent about another £130 on island hopping ferries on the trip.
Being quieter than the Hebrides is a huge plus for me. There’s nothing like having a beach all to yourself! Skara Brae has been on my list since I was about 10, so I might as well do Shetland as well 😂
Skomer is fabulous but you have to get the timing right and book ahead, it’s very popular and visitor numbers are limited 👍
Well I need to add the Shetlands to my travel list. Beautiful and the puffins are adorable!
Thanks Tina- the effort to get here is defiantly worth it. The puffins are just good for the soul...sitting and watching them just lifts our hearts. We have spent so many hours on this trip in absolute awe of their presence and their characters. The sound of their little chatter to each other will stay with us for life❤️
What a lovely video and the scenery just stunning. Thank you both for taking us along for the ride
You are quite welcome Peter. If you hadn't guessed- we are absolutely loving this trip- it has really surprised us and far surpassed our expectations.
Have a great week👍
Thank you for a great video my wife Maxine has badgered me about watching your videos we are both now fully hooked safe travels
Ah thank you so much - glad you have enjoyed some of our travels - the Shetland Islands were just wonderful 🚐
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. What a wonderful pace of life.
Thanks Jeff. We think that we are getting a bit better at this slow travel thing. We just pootle along seeing what comes up next.
Have a great week👍
🙏
Thanks Alan👍
Brilliant video, you really hit it off with the weather. I do fancy trying those chilli dogs!.
Did you hear screaming when you went into the water and wondered what it was, then you realised IT WAS YOU.
BRRRRRRR
Cheers - we have had the luck of the Gods with us for the whole 4 week trip! Just a couple of really windy days on Orkney. Chilli dogs are one of Richards favourites!! I could definitely hear myself squeal as I got in the water - it was freezing - but lovely and warm when we got out on the beach to recover.
Absolutely brilliant video you have inspired us to put the Shetlands on our bucket list, many thanks 👍
We have absolutely loved both the Shetlands and the Orkneys but do recognise that the amazing weather we have had will certainly have helped. We couldn't believe how stunning the Shetland beaches are.
Great video. Looks peaceful and magical. Thanks for sharing
We have absolutely loved Shetland and the islands 🚐 Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it.
Beautiful video thank you. How fun to see the puffins and those chilli dogs looked good ❤
Thanks for this. Be warned...once you have tried a chilli dog, there is no going back! Its a very slippery slope😂🌭
Have a great weekend👍
Great video on a part of the world we absolutely love, looking forward to the next instalment 😊
Thanks for this Gillian- we have been really surprised as we didn't really know what to expect. I think that the weather has certainly helped, but it is such a wild and remote place. We love it!
Have a great week👍
Good to see a return of ‘the’ jumper! 😉 Looks a stunning place, looking forward to seeing what else you discover
We thought that you would appreciate its return!
Hope you are keeping well?👍R
@@earlyretirementwanderlust All good with me thanks. Just starting the final week of a 3.5 week house and dog sit in Hampshire, then I'll be back in sunny Skipton.
Thanks so much for this. Ferry 4 days. So excited now seeing your gorgeous vlog.
Safe travels ❤❤
Likewise Alan- safe travels! Where are you starting your trip?
Have a great weekend and try to keep the excitement in check😉👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust we’re setting off from Hartford in Sunny Cheshire
Our son is at university in Aberdeen so he is joining us from there
Ahhh sunny Cheshire....nice memories for us. We used to be just down the road from you in Sandbach- small world👍
Lovely video and looks so peaceful. Defo on my list. Did you see the lighthouse of MUCKLE FLUGGA which was from the fragile rock kids show many years ago?? Safe travels. Jonathan
Hi Jonathan. We did...more of that in the next video. It was on my bucket list for a while (not for the Fraggle Rock reason😂), and we had a perfect, if very windy day for it. It's a very wild place, as you would expect from so far north.
Have a great week👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust fantastic news and I can’t wait to see it. By the way it’s so nice of you to reply to these messages. I know how busy you are. Stay safe.
Terrific video. At last I've finally found a couple of travellers who can film well and use words like dichotomy!
Thar said, you were lucky with the weather. I'm tod it can blow somewhat.
Cheers, your latest fan.
Thank you! Richard does love his filming and looking out for interesting perspectives - most of it is actually done on our iPhone 11's! The weather for most of our 4 week trip has been pretty good which we were not expecting! We have had a couple of really windy days on Orkney. Glad you are enjoying the channel. 😊
Great and informative video - thank you. Looking forward to the next episode!
Cheers - glad you enjoyed it 😊 Onto Unst and Yell in the next video
Just more motivation to get there myself. Lovely video.
Thank you - we are so glad we have made the effort to get up here and have loved it 🚐
Stunning, just stunning.❤
Thanks Nico- we are feeling very blessed- it far surpassed our expectations.
Great video guys. We do love seeing the puffins, they are fascinating little birds for sure. You have found some fabulous beaches too and Bridge End campsite looks in a lovely location. Go easy with that axe Jackie as we wouldn’t want you to be getting injured lol. Keep safe. Irvine & Karen.
Hi you two, as you can guess, we had a great time with the Puffins. It has been a long time coming and we fully immersed ourselves in the experience. Don't worry, Jackie is the fire master in our household and she knows what she is doing🙏
Have a great weekend. 👍
Wow, beautiful!
Many thanks Deborah. Have a great week👍
Stunning 😍
Thank you - we have fallen in love with the Shetland islands 🚐❤️
Great video again 😍 love Monday morning wake up with your videos.
Chilli hot dog you should try substitute chilli for curry powder and there you have another variety of hot dogs, delicious.
Thank you - Richard would love a curry hot dog!!
Great video guys.. Scotland looks amazing. We’re heading up in September. Soo excited. Hope the midges are long gone 😂
Thank you - Scotland is the most beautiful country to explore - you will love it. The midges have been ok - just one night on Hoy when it was really still at dusk and then the pesky little critters came out in full force!
Oh the beaches remind me of Barra..we would love to go..Jackie have you sneaked a cuddly puffin on board? Impressed with the swim guys..❤
We were really surprised at how fabulous the beaches are on Shetland and the islands! They are not as long as the beaches on the outer Hebrides - generally tucked away in small coves - but I really liked that. There are LOTS of them with beautiful white sand and clear waters. I could watch the puffins for hours they are so comical and curious and they chat away to each other with a really sweet groaning sound.
The beaches are lovely and we couldn't get over how many stunning beaches there were! They are not as long as on the Hebrides and tend to be in small coves but have lovely white sand and clear water. The puffins are so comical and curious little creatures - they chat away to each other with this really sweet little groaning sound.
@@earlyretirementwanderlust so exciting to be visiting the less explored parts of the British Isles. Hope Orkney and the islands are as interesting and that the weather holds.
Wow, puffins and an otter, you lucky people. Richard, did you teach history as well as maths? Another lovely video thank you.
Hi Jill- no history teaching for me...just a guilty pleasure in later life!
I think I had possibly the worst history teachers at school as I was never switched on by the subject. However I love the history that surrounds us and just geek out on it on our travels.
Thanks for the comment. Have a great week👍
That’s your best thumbnail ever 😂🐧
Thank you! If you hadn't guessed...we quite liked the puffins😂😂😂
Thank you for the video. The Shetlands are another place on our radar. We are off to the Isle of Arran in a couple of weeks. You were lucky with the weather. Do you always wild camp?
Thank you - The Shetlands were wonderful. As is Arran - we spent 2 weeks on Arran last September and loved it! We went in early September and had amazing weather. Lochranza campsite was great with the deer coming to visit in the night and there are a couple of great coastal hikes around there and we climbed goat fell which had the most incredible views. There is also an honest box bakery in Blackwaterfoot which had great cakes when we were there.
On Arran we did a combination - there are a couple of great Park up spots on P4N especially down the west coast by the beaches. We also used the Seal Shores campsite which was great and we would have stayed at the motorhome aire by the Auchrannie hotel had we been more organised and booked a spot! Have a great trip 🚐
@@earlyretirementwanderlust Thanks for the response. We are only doing three days there, saying at the Seal Shore site. When we get back to the mainland, we may head for the Orkneys.
Sounds like you are living the dream, and doing great on RUclips too 👍. I was wondering, when you are camped up in the middle of nowhere as you said, did it take you long to feel safe to sleep, or do you have any tips for this side of things? I’ve never done it, but looking at your videos it sounds like it could be a lot of fun.
Thanks for these lovely words. We are definitely loving what we are doing at the moment!
Wilder park-ups take a while to get used to but we try to follow some simple personal rules:
1. No photos on P4N app- we don't stay.
2. Check out all the reviews on the P4N app.
3. If we feel uncomfortable when we get there, we move on and look for another spot.
4. We generally feel more comfortable if another van is there.
5. We avoid cities or rural locations close to cities.
6. We try to make sure we have phone signal.
7. We never camp close to houses- it's just not fair on the locals.
8. We know how to deadlock our van when we are in it without setting the alarm off!
We haven't had any problems to date in over 750 nights...not to say that it won't happen...but so far so good. We see a lot of vanlife sensationalism about safety concerns on social media, but we have experienced nothing like what is portrayed in over 6 years of van ownership.
Hope that this helps? 👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust That's great information thank you for sharing. I am really enjoying your videos, and the way they are presented. They give off the right 'vibe' for the lifestyle you are sharing. The videos are giving me ideas for when I manage to get to retirement.
Any potential videos on budgeting, or even the prep that went in to funding the lifestyle? I recognise you flagged not being able to access pensions until 55. So must be stressful, without a plan and budget, to see your savings going down?
Another great video, thank you. Jackie, where did you get your knitted jumper? It’s great!
Hi Martin, as much as it looks like a traditional Shetland jumper...it's actually my favourite Fjallraven jumper.😀
Fantastic you found the puffins and got some great photos. Stunning scenery and beaches really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing 😀😀
I guess you're back now then. Was 4 weeks on the longer side of the time needed in the shetlands?
Hi I think we had an ideal amount of time on each set of islands. 2 weeks on the Shetland islands and 2 weeks on Orkney. It would depend on how much you wanted to island hop as that obviously takes time - particularly on Orkney as some of the ferries are still over an hour. We didn’t get to see all the islands we wanted. I would say 10-14 days especially as it is such a long and expensive ferry ⛴️ 🚐
No rate my shower this week 😢
Sadly I think there have been a couple that we forgot to do as we were arriving late and busy!! Showers were ok 😊
Great video guys, have watched all your old ones and am now right up to date.
We are 43 and planning on early retiring around 55 but as the government are changing in 2028 that you will have to be 57 before we can take our pension we will have to also rely on savings.
I'm off to a festival next week to volunteer for 5 days. Gets me all my food for the 5 days shower and toilet facilities in exchange for my time.
I also get two tickets to the festival for free.
You should look into it
Definitely makes the money stretch further. ..
Help set up the festival all food etc included. ..
A weekend ticket then to enjoy and then I'm off to the next one to help with and for nearly a month I won't need to buy any food etc and enjoy a couple of festivals for free.
If you like the idea of volunteering and something free back In return you should check it out.
Thank you - glad you are enjoying our channel.
I hadn't realised it was so soon that the government is making the changes to retire at 57! We have seriously thought about doing a festival season one year just for the experience as much as any thing else so were interested in your comment. Thanks 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust definitely look into it some are a small deposit that you get back once you have done the hours some it's free. I just put the money back into the festival pot so it's there for the next one.
The one I'm doing this week it's half the price for the deposit next year.