Couple’s blunt reason for selling six bedroom house to spend four years travelling in a van

Chris and Marianne Fisher, from Telford, Shropshire, quit their NHS jobs and sold their six-bedroom home before embarking on a trip which saw them drive 67,000 miles and visit 29 countries

A couple who ditched their day-to-day grind have spent four years traversing the globe in a trusty campervan after selling everything they owned.

Chris and Marianne Fisher left their lives in January 2020 behind the wheel of Trudy, their 20 year old Fiat Ducato campervan which they nabbed for £18,500 two years prior. Kissing goodbye to an NHS career and a roomy six-bedroom abode, the Fishers tallied up an astonishing 67,000 miles on the clock, cruising through 29 different countries.

That ‘live for now’ revelation hit them hard, prompting a house clearance in Telford, Shrops. , and letting out their home to fund their travelling home on wheels. Morphing into viral stars, Chris, aged 54, and Marianne, 56, captured hearts with their travel vlogs racking up a whopping 28 million views and winning over 180,000 fans online.

Their Homecoming on Sunday (8/9) saw throngs of well-wishers, exceeding 100 strong, lining the streets of Ironbridge, exactly where their odyssey had initiated. Feeling totally ‘overwhelmed’ by the love and support from their followers, the duo is hardly resting on their laurels the next journey’s blueprint is already on the drawing board.

Former theatre admin worker Marianne beamed with pride saying: “I really feel if we do nothing else in our life, we’ve done something fantastic. When we left, everyone said: ‘You can’t drive around the world with a two-wheel drive Fiat Ducato.’ But she’s done it.”

Chris said: “We drove past Mount Fuji. Passed the Taj Mahal in India, and the nature of seeing elephants walk in front of your van in Kruger National Park and having leopards and lions walking around was fantastic. We’ve always loved travel and planned when we retired one day that we would go and spend our retirement travelling.”

“You get to that point in life where you realise you’re not going to live forever. You hit that middle age and think we might not make retirement, we need to live for now. It’s hard to step out of the box of what’s normal but we did. We had this mad idea to think we could travel the world, and after six months of planning we set off from Ironbridge.”

Overcome with emotion, the pair were taken aback by the heartwarming turnout upon their return. “It’s been lovely to be home after we’ve been living in the van for six years. We feel as though it’s made us realise how incredible this trip has been. We’re still trying to understand that we’ve done it. It’s been so overwhelming, but it was the best decision for us,” Marianne said.

“I think when you’re sitting at a desk looking out of the window and there’s a brick wall, whether it’s a weekend away or whether it’s a week away, two weeks or a whole craziness like we’ve done, I would encourage anyone to just go out. If you’ve got something that’s stopping you, a fear, message me and I will put you straight.

“We’re so happy to be home and see such a warm welcome on a rainy day – and so sad that this adventure’s over, but there’s going to be more. It’s been phenomenal. Different places, different cultures – everybody’s given us a warm welcome around the world.”

When the couple purchased their van, it had approximately 40,000 miles on the clock. But, now after their trip around the world, the pair say the campervan has racked up more than 137,000 miles, not including 24,000 at sea. After leaving Telford, the duo crossed Europe before arriving in Turkey, but that’s when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Chris and Marianne became Turkish residents for 18 months before making the decision to ship the van to South Carolina to drive across the United States. Arriving in San Francisco, the couple headed to Vancouver in Canada ahead of a ‘loop’ around Alaska. Chris and Marianne embarked on an epic 1,000-mile journey along Canada’s Demster Highway, braving the ‘dirt road’ to reach the northernmost drivable point before taking a dip in the Arctic Ocean.

The adventurous duo then made their way back into the USA, cruising along parts of Route 66 towards California, and eventually Mexico. Months of exploration later, they shipped their trusty campervan from LA to Asia, kicking off a three-month Japanese adventure that included Tokyo and beyond.

Navigating Tokyo and Japan, Chris and Marianne hopped onto a car ferry to South Korea, only to find themselves pondering their next move. China was off-limits due to visa issues, so the pair set their sights on Malaysia and Thailand, followed by India and Pakistan.

However, their plans hit a snag when Saudi Arabia refused them entry because their vehicle was right-hand drive, prompting them to ship off to South Africa for another continental tour. Travelling north through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, their incredible four-and-a-half-year journey concluded with a shipment home from Durban.

Reflecting on the most memorable experiences, Chris shared: “It was absolutely amazing, one of the highlights was the Grand Canyon. We had the mad idea to see if we could wild camp in Las Vegas and see a show, and we managed to stick in a hotel car park and then went to a show and Cirque du Soleil.”

Through their Tread The Globe channel, the couple documented their trip online and soon built up a legion of followers and fans as they tried to live on £27 a day. Chris, who was previously head of catering services for an NHS Trust, added: “It’s sometimes hard to realise the impact you have on people. During Covid we had messages of people saying the videos are helping them get through a dark time.”

“There’s a real impact and it feels really nice that we’re giving positivity because we’re just about showing the world is a beautiful place.”

For more details on the couple’s adventures, events and social media channels, visit their Tread The Globe website.