Planning a road trip

Whilst we’re all locked up indoors, the itchy feet and wanderlust grows stronger and stronger in the Tales of Annie Bean household every single day! Had all gone to plan, we’d currently be cruising in our hire car along the Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California, on our way to compete in Ironman Oceanside.

Alas, it’s not to be, so we’re thinking ahead for when we are finally allowed back out to roam the countryside and planning some homegrown adventures.

Head out on an adventure

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know we go on some BIG adventures around the world. We’ve been road tripping in California, waterfall hunting in Iceland, and driven winding mountain roads in the French Alps. But some of the most memorable adventures have been those just a couple of hours away. Think Yorkshire, and the dramatic limestone pavement of Malham Cove, Snowdonia, surfing the Snowdonia Adventure lagoon and climbing a mountain in one day, and Loch Lomond, wild swimming as the sun sets behind the mountains.

These kinds of trips have become more and more popular over the last few years, and the ‘staycation’ has become a real alternative to expensive foreign travel. You don’t need much to hit the road in the UK, a place to stay (we love to camp but AirB&B has some really unique properties that won’t break the bank) and Google maps on the dashboard.

Don’t need to leave the UK

We’ve been really lucky to have partnered with some fantastic car manufacturers, who have loaned us some amazing vehicles for our adventures, including the Citroen C3 Cactus a few years ago that took us to Dumfries and Galloway for a lakeside adventure, packed with mountain biking, hiking and trying to spot the famous red kites! We also took a Jeep Compass from the mountains of North Wales to the beaches of the Gower, staying in the most beautiful Shepherds hut just steps from the sweeping cliffs of Rhossili Bay.

The one thing all of these trips have in common is the need to have really good, really comprehensive insurance, both travel and vehicle. We have had our financial bacon saved more than once when the unexpected has happened on one of our adventures, from reversing incidents to an enormous stone chip in the windscreen!

Car insurance is needed!

When using hire vehicles, and especially when they have been loaned from car companies, we always take out extra cover, as your own insurance very rarely has sufficient cover to save you getting stung. When we’re looking for car insurance for the weekend, or even longer, we use Dayinsure, which is underwritten by Aviva. It gives instant, short term cover (up to 30 days), and all you need is the reg number of the vehicle, your driving licence and a few details and it’s done. You can also use it to cover friends and family driving your vehicle and vice versa, really useful if you’ve got a long trip and want to share the driving load.

Insurance is never the most thrilling thing to think about, especially in the excited buzz of planning an adventure, but the safety net it provides when the worst does happen is absolutely priceless. As for our next adventure, we have got SO.MANY.PLANS for the end of lock down, we can’t wait to get back out on the road.