The Big European Odyssey
Marcus Leach and his family spent 2 years on the road travelling around Europe, Asia and Africa in a Bailey Adamo 75-4I. This page brings together all the blogs that they wrote while on this trip to help you get inspiration for your own motorhome touring trip.
Introducing The Big European Odyssey
March 2022
By very definition, an odyssey is a long journey full of adventures. A series of experiences that bring about knowledge and understanding. And that is precisely our aim. To not only enrich our lives, educate not only our children but to share this journey in a way that can hopefully impact countless others as they seek to expand their horizons. That might be booking their first overseas trip or finding a new destination within Europe to explore.
Learning to Live on the Road
April 2022
Travelling around Europe and Asia in a motorhome sounds like a great idea when you’re twenty-one and in between finishing university and starting your new job, but throw in long-term travel and two young children into the mix, and you wonder if it is doable.
Packed and ready to go
May 2022
Packed and ready to go. Five words that convey so much meaning beyond the obvious statement. They are words that mark the culmination of months of planning, countless hours spent packing first our house and then our motorhome, the moments of worry and doubt contrasted by those of excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead. But, more than anything, these five words represent the start of the next chapter of our lives and a new way of living…in our motorhome.
On the road at last
May 2022
It’s taken a few weeks, but we are slowly finding a natural rhythm to our days as we adjust from holiday mode to this actually being our life now. It’s a strange feeling waking up each morning and knowing that we have at least a year ahead of us rather than the usual few weeks a holiday affords. But it’s a feeling we are enjoying, as with it comes the excitement of knowing there are endless possibilities of how we fill each day, never planning too far ahead or closing the door to any opportunity.
Expand Your Horizons
July 2022
When we were planning the Big European Odyssey, we did so with one phrase in mind; expand your horizons. These three words have positively influenced our lives over the years, three words that are now opening our eyes to an incredible array of new destinations on our travels.
Stunning Switzerland
July 2022
Contrary to Marcus’s favourite joke, Switzerland’s flag isn’t its only big plus. There are so many resplendent attributes found in the land of beautiful mountain ranges, which is set in the heart of Europe at the intersection of five countries. One was our uninterrupted view of Alpenglow, which sounds like a shimmery light you’d get after eating a bowl of the popular British muesli, but, in fact, it is the optical phenomenon of a red hue seen on top of high mountains at sunset or sunrise.
The Brilliant Balkans Part I: Bosnia & Herzegovina
September 2022
Every story has it’s beginning, and it just so happens that this one starts in Bosnia & Herzegovina back in 2018. For not only was it here that I first drove a Bailey of Bristol motorhome, but it was here that a spark was ignited.
The Brilliant Balkans Part II: Montenegro
October 2022
Montenegro is a small country with a lot to offer. A country that we will happily admit we knew almost nothing about before crossing the border from Bosnia & Herzegovina on a wet, miserable afternoon. The weather was not the only miserable part of the day. So too was the border control officer we dealt with, who was not happy with our paperwork – always travelling with the original V5 documents and not just copies.
The Brilliant Balkans Part III: Practical Advice
October 2022
Life is full of lessons, none more so than when you’re travelling, and especially so when you’re heading to places a little off the beaten track. Places such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro, places that can, if you’re not prepared, cause a few challenges along the way.
Our Motorhome Travellers Guide to Dubrovnik
November 2022
With a brilliant campsite on the Caravan and Motorhome Club European Network, year-round great weather and enough history, culture and culinary offerings to keep even the most voracious of travellers happy, Dubrovnik is a brilliant touring destination. If you’re thinking of heading that way, something we strongly recommend, based on our own experiences over the best part of two weeks in and around Dubrovnik.
The Reality of Home Schooling on the Road
January 2023
‘But what about the children’s education?’ It was a question we heard with increasing regularity in the months leading up to our new life on the road. A question that would follow us as we slowly made our way down through Europe and into the Balkans.
Adventuring through Morocco: Ait Benhaddou and Beyond
May 2023
“Daddy, why did we stop here?” Dorothy asks, curious about our unexpected pause on a desolate stretch of road.
Amidst the barren landscape, a lone shepherd perched on a rock captures our attention as he patiently oversees his grazing goats and sheep. “Look over there“, I point, as a surprising sight unfolds before Dorothy and Harrison.
Motorhoming in Meteora: A Hidden Greek Gem
June 2023
With a hop, skip, and a jump (plus a few ferries), our journey had taken us from the simmering heat of North Africa to the cradle of Western Civilization in Europe. Yet, for all of Greece’s ancient history and mythology, it was, comparatively speaking, a more recent period in its intriguing narrative that proved to be the highlight of our time in the Hellenic Republic on The Big European Odyssey.
The Beauty of Bulgaria
July 2023
Very quickly, we began to discover that Bulgaria is a country that combines sublime natural beauty with modern culture and storied history, resulting in an alluring appeal that compels the traveller to seek out more of its hidden wonders, to delve deeper into the fabric of its past and seek out encounters with the people that call it home.
Rediscovering Turkey in a Motorhome
August 2023
The further east we’ve travelled, the greater the number of comments we’ve had wondering not only if it’s safe, but also if there is a touring infrastructure in place. There seems to be a common misconception that once you get past a certain point on the map, something suddenly changes and it’s no longer safe to travel, and campsites become as rare as unicorns. It’s been the opposite – the people have become more welcoming, and while there’s not an abundance of campsites, we have yet to find a country without enough to make touring fairly straightforward, as long as you have a mild sense of adventure.
Touring East – Beyond the Beaten Path
August 2023
Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve had a fascination with maps. I remember, with great fondness, the Sunday afternoons—post-roast dinner, of course—spent at my grandparents’ house, inspecting in detail the many maps that my granddad had on his study desk. I would conjure up many stories and adventures in my head based on the names of the far-flung places and outposts that piqued my imagination.
The Big European Odyssey: Exploring Asia in a Motorhome
September 2023
What’s the furthest from home you’ve ever been in your leisure vehicle? A hundred miles? Five hundred? A thousand? What about three thousand? Although that’s as the crow flies. It’s been more like 4000 on paper and maps to get to where we are now. After all, there are not many straight roads between Monmouth and Tbilisi, not once you’re off the M4.
Mastering Motorhome Off-Grid Living: Top Tips for Wild Camping Success
December 2023
Like Marmite, when it comes to wild camping, it seems you either love it or hate it. However, until you’ve tried it, there’s no way to be certain, even if you think that it’s not for you. The further east we’ve ventured on our travels, the more often we have wild camped, at first out of necessity due to fewer campsites, and then out of choice given how much we enjoyed it. With every night off-grid, our love for it grows.
Planning Motorhome Trips Abroad
January 2023
We have travelled far and wide on The Big European Odyssey, visiting eighteen countries across three continents, taking in all manners of sights, experiences, and fantastic camping spots. Throughout it all, the question that comes up again and again is: how do we plan what to do and where to stay?
Winter Touring in Innsbruck
March 2024
We wake to a soft pitter-patter on the motorhome roof. Harrison excitedly pulls the blind down and shrieks in delight before triumphantly announcing ‘there’s so much snow everywhere!’ Dorothy quickly joins him by the window before a mad scramble ensues as they both dress frantically and quickly disappear out of the front door into the winter wonderland we’ve awoken to.
Motorhome Adventure to a Disney Wonderland
April 2025
Whoever said that fairy tales don’t exist has never been to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. It’s here, nestled deep in the Bavarian Alps, that you will find a castle of such grandiose magnitude that not only does it look like it has been plucked straight from a storybook, but it was the inspiration behind one of Disney’s most iconic castles.
Exploring Eindhoven in a Motorhome
May 2024
For many people, the prospect of crossing the channel to mainland Europe conjures thoughts of longer trips and holidays in their leisure vehicles. However, with a wide variety of great locations within a few hours’ drive from Calais, there’s also the option of popping over to Europe for a long weekend.
Discovering the Hidden Gem of France: Gorges du Verdon
November 2024
There’s a reason why France is the most visited country in the world. It abounds with natural beauty, has a rich and varied culture, and is home to two of Europe’s most mesmerising mountain ranges — the Alps and the Pyrenees. Hidden within all this splendour is a region that, while popular, is often overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbours: the Gorges du Verdon.
Off-Season Adventure in the Alps
November 2024
Think of France, and it is hard not to imagine the Alps, such is their dominance, both literally and figuratively, in a country blessed with two of Europe’s most dramatic and vast mountain ranges. No matter where we travel, there is something about the Alpine peaks that always calls us back, which is why we once again found ourselves heading across the Channel this year for our latest adventure there.