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The Yorkshire couple who give it all up to travel UK in motorhome

The Yorkshire couple who give it all up to travel UK in motorhome

A Yorkshire couple sold everything they own to travel the UK in a motorhome – with their dogs in tow.

Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew, 57, gave up their home and the pub they ran in Scarborough to go on the adventure of a lifetime. They also got rid of their cars, furniture and more than 17 bags of clothes.

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They bought a £10,000 motorhome and have been on the road for the last two years – along with their pooches. Their four-legged family members include a 15-year-old Shih Tzu called Pixie, Soda, a 15-year-old Labrador collie cross and Luna, a six-year-old Shih Tzu Chihuahua cross.

The two ran the Belle Vue Pub near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, for four years before Andrew jokingly suggested they should buy a motorhome. But his joke soon became a reality and both decided they’d done enough with the boozer – turning it from “not being very good” to award-winning.

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Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew, 57, on their travels. -Credit:Andrew Scattergood© SWNS

The couple – who rented the pub from a landlord – handed in their six-month notice and began looking for a new transportable home. They sold all of their belongings – including chairs, tables, sofas, white goods and some of their Doctor Who collectibles – to afford their new motorhome.

Stuart and Andrew even cashed in on their two cars – a Mercedes and a Range Rover – getting back £4,000 for the pair. They also donated 17 bags of clothes to charity to free up some much-needed space in their motorhome.

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After raising close to £10k they bought their new RV in February 2023 and hit the road with their three dogs – hoping their savings would allow them to travel up and down the UK for the next two years. But 15 months on, the pair have been all over the UK from John O’Groats to Lands End and are currently under budget, hoping to live out their nomadic lifestyle for a further two years.

Stuart said: “It’s a cheaper way of living and the freedom it gives us is brilliant.”

The two ran the Belle Vue Pub near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, for four years before Andrew jokingly suggested they should buy a motorhome -Credit:Andrew Scattergood© SWNS

“It was a really nerve-wracking move.”

“We were secure in the pub but it became too mundane and too samey.”

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“We couldn’t take it any further than what we’d done and we needed to do something different and financially paying for someone else’s mortgage didn’t make sense.”

“It’s nice to have the dogs along on the adventure.”

Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew, 57, on their travels -Credit:Andrew Scattergood© SWNS

“Andrew has a Labrador cross collie and she often knocks me flying when she’s bouncing around the motorhome, but going out with them is brilliant and they get to see different places.”

“We started in February 2023 and we’re still doing it and we’re still happy,” said Andrew. “We’ve been all over the UK apart from East Anglia and we’ve loved it.”

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“It’s just about exploring places in the UK that we’ve never been to and places we didn’t know existed.”

“We can live off-gird for weeks as we’re not reliant on anything really.”

Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew, 57, on their travels -Credit:No credit

“Water can be the only struggle sometimes but our outgoing costs are just fuel and food shopping.”

“We can see the comparison in food prices across the country. We don’t have any council tax, rent or bills and it’s just a bottle of gas every week.”

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Stuart and Andrew have no set plan when deciding where they stay for the night, but have used their free time to attend motorhome festivals. “If it’s summer and we know we have to be somewhere then we might be travelling every day,” said Stuart. “We have our morning plan and see where we can park up and camp.”

“Sometimes we’re stuck in lay-bys in the middle of nowhere so it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.”

Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew’s , 57, motorhome -Credit:Andrew Scattergood© SWNS

“If we like it, we’ll stay a while and if we don’t like it, we’ll move on,” said Andrew. “Next week we have the Slumber on the Humber van life festival and the week after that we’re on holiday with parents.”

“Then we’re heading back up to Skegness in September, before the NEC motorhome show in October.”

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The couple bought an older vehicle with a plan of doing a mini-renovation on it. “We had to get the whole van welded again and we knew there were going to be issues with an older vehicle,” said Stuart. “Andrew refitted the bathroom so it’s been re-panelled and we’ve turned the sitting room into a bedroom with a mattress – just bringing it up to modern day.”

“We’ve got solar panels, batteries and LED lighting so it’s a bit more efficient too.”

Stuart Scattergood, 36, and his husband, Andrew, 57, on their travels -Credit:Andrew Scattergood© SWNS

Stuart and Andrew have been documenting their journey on social media, in the hopes they can raise some extra funds. “We joke with everyone and say when the savings run out we have to go back to work,” said Stuart. “We’re just on the cusp of the channel being monetised on YouTube.

“Our first original plan was for two years travelling with the van – but we’ve actually done a lot better than we thought financially so we’re hoping to get another two years out of it and it depends on how well social media works and seeing if we can find some other forms of income.”

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Both chose locations in Scotland for their favourite locations they’ve visited. Andrew said: “Mine is Skye – it’s absolutely stunning.” Whereas Stuart prefers the entire west coast of Scotland.

Where they have visited so far

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