A couple who sold their ‘dream’ home to travel Scotland in a renovated campervan say they have ‘no regrets’ about ditching their lavish 12-room property for a compact mobile home.
Victoria MacDonald, 28, and Scott Ross, 32, purchased a detached home, in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, which had once belonged to the Colman’s mustard dynasty, for £100,000 in June 2016 but began feeling increasingly dissatisfied professionally.
Victoria, who worked as a purchasing administrator in the oil and gas industry, was suffering from depression, and Scott had injured his back working in grounds operation at a heliport company in June 2016.
In March this year, they put their house on the market and it sold within three days, for £146,000. The couple bought a Citroen Relay 2016 campervan for £13,000, spending a further £10,000 renovating the mobile home, installing a kitchen and a solar-powered shower.
Now they run an online marketing travel company and work remotely from some of the most scenic views in Scotland. Victoria has come off anti-depressants after four years, finding the great outdoors makes her high on life, and Scott’s back has improved with more exercise.
A couple who sold their ‘dream’ home to travel Scotland in a renovated minibus say they have ‘no regrets’ about ditching their lavish 12-room property. Their mobile home now features a wood burning fireplace and fully functional kitchen
While working as a purchasing administrator in the oil and gas industry, Victoria MacDonald, 28, was suffering from depression, and Scott Ross, 32, had injured his back working in grounds operation at a heliport company in June 2016
The couple bought a Citroen Relay 2016 campervan for £13,000, spending a further £10,000 renovating the mobile home, installing a kitchen and a solar-powered shower.
The couple ditched their detached 12-room home, in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire (pictured) , which had once belonged to the Colman’s mustard dynasty and transformed an old van into a mobile home
Speaking of her old home, Victoria said: ‘It was a cracker of a house, it was historic. It had 12 rooms in total, including a double-roomed basement, and an old ballroom. It was too big for us though.
‘It was a dream house when we bought it, but we never settled. We bought it for £100,000 and sold it for £146,000. We both decided to move on from the house as it was too big.
‘We didn’t know where we wanted to move to. We came up with the idea of moving into a van and taking our work on the road.
‘So that’s exactly what we did. We put our house on the market in March 2021 and it sold within three days.’
Their previous home in Aberdeenshire boasted stunning views of Scottish countryside from the spacious and bright living room
Their living room was decorated with a tree-themed wall mural and hardwood flooring – and the couple have managed to bring along a few favourite pieces with them in their mobile home
The home featured three spacious and bright bedrooms, including one decorated with more nature-themed artwork with a grey and white colour scheme
Their stunning old home had once belonged to the Colman dynasty and featured a wood-burning fireplace, hardwood flooring and a chandelier
Victoria and Scott, who is from Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, have been together for seven years. Nearly five years ago, the couple were both signed off from work and decided to start a blog about their enthusiasm for travel.
Their hobby turned into a full time occupation, and they now work with VisitScotland to promote tourism – and have never been happier.
Victoria said: ‘I was ill with depression, so I left my work, and around that same time, Scott injured his back so required to take leave.
‘During our time away from work, we came up with the idea for the website and the blog, and just went for it. Our friends were not surprised and our family was the same, no one was massively surprised.
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‘We haven’t done the nine to five life for years now.’
The couple have found sacking off materialism has given them a new lease of life, and describe their nomadic lifestyle as ‘freeing’.
The couple, pictured reading in bed with one of their beloved labradors, spent £23,000 in total on their mobile home which they fitted out with specifications such as a Swedish oven and sink
The mobile home is decorated with autumnal foliage and the couple installed extra storage space on the walls to hold wood for their fire, books and cooking ingredients
The couple were able to bring a few personal effects from their old home, including a pillow and books on nature, but say that it’s remarkable how few things they really need
Their cosy van includes a double bed with extra storage underneath and a blue curtain dividing the bedroom space from the kitchen area
Their cosy bedroom space features a small mirror on the wall and shelves and baskets fixed to the wall for extra storage
In total they spent £23,000 on their mobile home which they fitted out with specifications such as a Swedish oven.
Victoria said: ‘We bought an old van, a Citroen Relay 2016, for £13,000. It needed a lot of work done, so we moved into a croft in the Highlands while we worked on it. We spend £10,000 on the conversion.
‘It was horrible. I’ve made no secret of the fact I did not enjoy the conversion process. It took a couple of weeks planning, but no matter how much you plan for it, you don’t find out how much is needed to be done until you’re right in the thick of it.
‘It has solar panels on the roof, at 320 watts. We have a hob, and an Omnia, which is a Swedish oven. We have a fridge, and we built a bit for food storage.
The couple have found sacking off materialism has given them a new lease of life, and describe their nomadic lifestyle as ‘freeing’
They now spend their time driving around Scotland, visiting new places and writing reviews. They are pictured inside their mobile home with one of their pet labradors
Victoria has come off anti-depressants after four years, finding the great outdoors makes her high on life, and Scott’s back has improved with more exercise. The pair are pictured outside of their mobile home
‘At the minute we have a solar shower, that you can hang outside and it heats water up through solar energy.’
They now spend their time driving around Scotland, visiting new places and writing reviews.
Victoria said: ‘One of the best things about it is it’s so freeing. It’s amazing how much stuff you do not need. There’s something about being so ingrained into nature.
‘I wake up every day to an unbelievable view out my window. I was on antidepressants for four years and now I’ve been off them since we started our new life.
‘Scott’s back is getting stronger, due to the amount of exercise he is getting every day. The two dogs are loving it as well, although they are constantly knackered since they are outside all the time.
‘We have not missed or regretted selling the house since we got on the road.’
Source: Daily Mail
