Orkney's Wild Side: Islands, Ruins & The Northern Lights...

[@our_path_unseen]

Really enjoy your channel. Our bucket list is growing because of your videos - thank you ! One thing that bothers us about Scotland is the mosquitos - did you have a problem with them?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We will definitely cover this in next weeks video. A real common concern and one that we share with you. Thanks for your comment.👍 Love your KZbin bio BTW.... are you tempted to start a channel? You really should- we have love it!

[@AngelaPerkins-i3w]

Amazing travels, great trip thank you for sharing. Now I just need to find some different sea legs as mine cant even do the Isle of Weight ferry lol

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Angela. Apparently it is a really unpredictable crossing and seemingly the weather gods were with us on all our long ferries this trip. There are some beautiful places to explore that don't need ferries, and Skye even has a bridge👍😂

[@AngelaPerkins-i3w]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust yes Skye is down on my list, I think I will need to pace myself as there is so much to see just in UK.

[@karlcunningham5217]

Hello, we have enjoyed your latest trip. My wife and I, both 50 (early retirees - my wife was a teacher as well) follow your videos for great location ideas which have really helped, in our VW. It’s good to see you both enjoying life. My question, maybe a little controversial, maybe not 😅 campervan toilet etiquette. We tend to stay on campsites due to the toilet situation, where we use an onboard portapotty. But we only use this for no 1’s. No2’s are for the campsite facilities. What do you do when you are wild camping? Oddly, this is a serious question 😂 p.s. enjoy Thailand when you go, it’s fantastic!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Karl- you will be glad to know that no 1's and no 2's are pretty high up on the all time question list. We will be covering all things toilet in the Q&A video next week. We cannot wait for Thailand- although we are already strangely nervous about it. So far out of our comfort zones😂 Thanks for the comment👍

[@petermc754]

Hi Richard and Jackie, Thank you for another lovely video of a wonderful trip. A question for Jackie from Miriam - Do you drive the van, (I drive our car but not our MB Vito camper)? Peter & Miriam

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - we have loved the Orkney and Shetland Islands - Your question came just as we were filming so I have answered it more fully on the video but generally Richard does most of the driving - if we are on a long drive in the UK I will take turns but I don't like the narrow country lanes as my spacial awareness is not great! I have also never driven in Europe - every year I say I will but I haven't yet.

[@petermc754]

❤

[@allisonbennett641]

Ho Richard & Jackie, thank you for sharing another lovely video of your trip. Great content ☺️ We have a Citroën Relay conversion and our question would be similar to another re accessibility for this size van on ferries, roads, passing places etc ? Look forward to your Q & A next time and your next trip. Take care both 🤗

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Alison- we have had a few questions on van size on the islands so we will cover it in the video. Thanks for the contribution👍

[@tripswithgriff]

What a great final few days. Sadly our planned trip in Sept wont happen as we dont have time now, but it does mean maybe a longer visit next spring could be on the cards. I think it would be great if you published some simple itineraries for these longer trips as it would give others, like me, a bit of a head start with planning. Doesnt need much detail except perhaps a few words for each day and a location. You could probably sell them if you wanted some more work! 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this suggestion. Gutted that your trip won't be happening- but it will always be there for you at another time👍 If you take a look at our written blog at earlyretirementwanderlust.com Jackie does a great job of writing up our trips in more detail and also does a costs break down for some of the trips we have done. Don't think we are at the stage for selling things yet- we just love what we do and sharing our ideas with other like minded people🙏

[@LizB217]

Thoroughly enjoyed your travels around the Shetland and Orkney islands. Beautiful ... One question for your Q&A is regarding toilet facilities. I have a VW camper too and am contemplating a portable loo to open up more places to stay. How do you manage remote park ups? Cheers, Liz

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Liz- we knew that this would be a popular topic! Happy to chat about it in next weeks video👍 Thanks for contributing and for your positive feedback🙏

[@janetbowen7854]

We've loved your videos of your trip to Shetland and rhe Orkneys, a wonderful blue print for a future adventure in our campervan. Looking forward to your next trip. We love , rate my shower 🚐🚿❤️🐾🚐 xxx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Janet- it really did surpass all of our expectations and we are now just trying to work out how/when we are going to return. We have such happy memories of our trip❤️ Glad that you like RMS- it's really fun and a bit of silliness to film😉

[@carolfranklyn-wi8lp]

Loved this trip with you. It’s been on my bucket list for a while so it was lovely to visit from my armchair 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Carol- a number of people have mentioned that they like coming along on our journeys. This is one of the many reasons why we do what we do. 👍

[@SamanthaJones-h8l]

Hi, loving your videos 😊 and I love your famous nordic jumper too 😊 would you mind letting me know where you got it from please 🙏 thank you Sam from North Wales x

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for watching our channel 😊 someone came and said hello to us the other day - she said that it was the jumper she recognised first 😂 it is a Fjallraven jumper that I bought in the sales at Cotswolds outdoor shop - I need to wear it every day to get my moneys worth 😂 Joking apart - I do love it and it is really warm and just what we need being outdoors so much and living in a house with no central heating.

[@SamanthaJones-h8l]

@earlyretirementwanderlust 😂😂 that made me chuckle, it is a famous jumper then! I love it, and your channel, one of my favourites. My partner and I are planning retirement very soon and you've both been a great help...thank you 🤗

[@magsadams20]

You two should write a book about your adventures or travel guides. We love following your travels and you’ve inspired us to travel to places we’d not even thought about. A question for next week is, do you buy any souvenirs from your travels especially as you lead a ‘less is more’ approach to stuff? Thanks 🏕️

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Great question! We will absolutely cover this in next weeks video✅ Thanks for contributing👍

[@tonyellison6871]

Hi Richard and Jackie. We have been watching your channel now for nearly a year and have learnt so much and been inspired no end. Unfortunately we can't retire at the same time so looking to work out when to bite the bullet and buy a camper. I am thinking that to get the most from the investment it is not worth buying until we are both retired. What do you think? Also we are thinking of a 6m van conversion as the sweet spot to include a toilet but small enough to travel on smaller roads and ferries. What are your thoughts? Many thanks in advance.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Tony- thanks for this. We always planned to buy our camper when we retired, but ran out of patience. We made the decision 7 years ago to remortgage the house to release funds for Nelson. Please be aware that this was pre-Covid when vans were considerably cheaper then. By doing it this way, we had the van and still had time to pay the mortgage off before we retired. We never regretted that decision, and our van really changed the course of our lives and our mindset. We used it all the time, getting away most weekends and every holiday we could. We racked up so many nights away before we retired- it was (and is) amazing! For our next van, we are thinking a 5.4m Fiat Duccatto base for a few reasons- it fits behind our house in the Dales, it fits in standard parking bays and it will still take us to the remote places that we love. The major benefit is squeezing in a loo that we don't currently have and would be handy to open up more Aires in Europe that don't have facilities. It would also be more comfortable for winter camping and skiing that we love. Hope this helps? Good luck with your plans👍

[@se3059]

Another lovely, warm, engaging video, thank you! You did the Shetlands and Orkneys proud with this latest series of videos. Your passion really comes through in your content, it's great to watch and inspires me to do more in my 🚐 travels. I'm not sure I have any questions for your forthcoming Q&A video, you seem to cover stuff so well already.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks as always for your kind and supportive words- they really do make a difference. We had such a lovely time on the islands and they far surpassed our expectations. Definitely one for the bucker list! Have a great week👍

[@Trollberg60north]

We don't like(hate) being called "The Shetlands". That's like saying "The Brazils", "The Englands" or "The Scotlands".

[@lisaalder4406]

Really enjoying watching all your videos especially the latest in the Shetlands & Orkneys. Like you Jackie, I love Puffins - we've just got back from Iceland and got up real close to them, beautiful birds. We're the same age as you two but cannot retire for another 5-6 years as our youngest is 12 but I'm noting down all your wonderful trips for our bucket list! As a suggestion, I would like to know on your videos the month that you travel (as you may record one month and upload a month later for example), it just gives a gauge as to what the weather is like on different months - hope that makes sense? Keep up the good work, you're both a joy to watch. Lisa x

[@Trollberg60north]

We don't like(hate) being called "The Shetlands". That's like saying "The Brazils", "The Englands" or "The Scotlands".

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi and thanks for watching our channel 😊 The puffins were just the most adorable birds - I could watch them for hours on end. I bet Iceland was wonderful - it is on our bucket list to visit at some point as the geography and scenery just look spectacular. Great suggestion about the timing of our trips - we forget that people could be watching them a year later and be unsure when we have filmed! We will go through the time of year in our Q and A for the recent road trips.

[@carolwinser8764]

Many thanks. A great conclusion to a fabulous series. Have enjoyed coming along with your travels. Quite relieved to hear it wasn’t always blue skies. We will definitely head to Orkney early next summer to maximise chance of seeing puffins again. Thanks again for all the effort you put in to share your experiences.😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you for watching the Island travels - we have absolutely loved both Shetland and Orkney, both surpassed all our expectations. The puffins were just the icing on the cake, particularly when we saw them on Westray in August!

[@grahamclarke2319]

It’s a shame it’s the last video of your trip to the far north. It’s been really enjoyable and quite educational. I didn’t know much about where you’ve been. It’s certainly an amazing part of the world. And you got a Northern Light show to round off the trip too! Thanks for sharing your enjoyable videos and all the best for the next one. I’m sitting in my Cali on it’s first test run as I’m writing this, so that’s good for me.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

How's the test run going Graham? Such exciting times! Remember it won't all go smoothly straight away, but you soon get to grips with the van. We made some real bloopers in our early days...we nearly killed the leisure battery on night one by using all the power- we were lit up like Blackpool Illuminations😂 Thanks for your support👍

[@grahamclarke2319]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust It was just one night and it went okay thanks. The bed situation needs a bit of work to make it comfortable. Duvaley to the rescue! The Rainbow Screens are on the way too. I’m going to Cornwall next week, so the journey down the learning curve continues. I’m on the steep bit just now. Hopefully, I’ll be on a less steep part by the time I get home. All the best for your family holiday and thanks for your encouragement.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We have loved our Duvalay mattress - one thing we were pleasantly surprised at which is a bonus for us is how much heat it retains when it's cold which really helps in the winter when we are skiing. Have a great time in Cornwall x

[@susanmckee8946]

Another relaxing and inspiring "slow travel" dream watch guys.😊 You make my Sundays❤ Did you find Shetland and Orkney very different from the Outer Hebrides and which did you on balance prefer? We have only done Mull, Arran, Kintyre and Barra so keen to hear your views.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Oooooh great question Susan! A real toughie. We will get our thinking caps on and answer it in the video. Thanks for contributing. Have a great week👍

[@maybritt9207]

What an inspiration you are! Hope to follow you to the Orkneys. I read the Outrun prior to seeing the play at the Edinburgh Festival ( don’t bother!) the book was great though, turning it into a film might be ok but the book reveals the inner life which is so important to the narrative.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Ooooh- great tip off. We are both really looking forward to the book- didn't even realise it had been adapted for the stage. We will seek out the trailer! Thanks for the comment👍

[@Mikeandtheboys]

Question- what other tours do you have planned ?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Great question Mike...will love to talk about that next week👍 Thanks for contributing. 🙏

[@beverleyfisher935]

Wow, what a wonderful series, thank you.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Beverly! Have a great week👍

[@motorroamingaround]

Hi guys, another fab video. You had a bit of everything in this one from fantastic beaches, stunning walks, fabulous weather to terrible weather, puffins, superb sunsets, historical sites to a breathtaking aurora. What a fantastic trip. We really enjoyed following you on this one. Keep safe. Irvine & Karen.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks as always you two. Glad that you are enjoying what we do. A bit of down time at home to recover from what has been a really good summer. Who knows, we may even get a bit of late summer sun in the Yorkshire Dales🤞

[@dieselbushcraft1299]

Great video and we have just woken up to our first morning on Mainland. Super crossing from Gills Bay yesterday evening with a beautiful red sunset. We are so excited to start exploring today.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Have a good one👍 There is so much to see and do. Hope that the weather is kind to you.

[@alannorman1773]

Well we’re just recently home from our wonderful trip to the islands. We followed a similar itinerary to you apparently apart from Papa Westray which looks amazing. We were totally blown away and feel that we’ve barely scratched the surface and have every intention to return soon. Thank you for taking the time to share all of this, absolutely love it. The trailer to the film looks good thanks for the suggestion.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Alan- like you, we would return in a moments breath, as we had such a lovely time on the islands. We are just trying to work out where it will fit with our ever expanding bucket list😂

[@highwayman1769]

Really enjoyed this series both - Thank You. Question - what time of year did this trip take place. Assuming June?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this- surprisingly for us- we traveled in peak school holiday time, assuming that the islands would remain pretty quiet due to their remoteness. We traveled from mid July to Mid Aug for 4 weeks. Thanks for the comment👍

[@deborahrosa123]

I'm so jealous you got to see the Ness of Brodgar excavation! It hadn't opened yet when I was there in June, but I did get to see another live dig (only missing Alice Roberts filming Digging for Britain by a couple of days!) I have a question about maintenance of your van: you cover a lot of miles on your travels. What do you do to maintain your van in good running order and prepare for any mechanical issues or mishaps?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Deborah- as you probably realised, we had a wonderful time exploring the wide range of history on the islands. It was a real privilege to visit the Ness of Brogar...and quite surreal that it will now be all covered up. Great question BTW- we will love to answer it in next weeks video👍 Have a great week🙏

[@jillchew-tetlaw3388]

Hi Richard and Jackie, as you know I don’t have a campervan but am curious to know if the van feels claustrophobic when the weather takes a turn for the worse and you have to spend more time hunkered down? Looking forward to the Q & A session.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Jill- we will include it in the video- we cannot wait to answer it! Have a great week👍

[@ajsmit6448]

Hi Richard and Jackie.. Finally decided to sent you a comment quickly.. I have been enjoying your travels over the last year or so . I stumbled upon you as a result of me building my SPRINTER camper van, and thus following different van ventures on you tube. I am SOUTH AFRICAN and notices somewhere in your travels that Jackie is also originally from SA. Regards AJ Smit

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for the comment AJ and welcome to the channel. Glad that you are enjoying what we do. Having a van has really changed our lives for the better and we cannot really believe the places that it has taken us to. Have a great week👍

[@janl7552]

Another wonderful vlog and a great series Richard & Jackie… thank you for sharing! Looking forward to viewing your Q&A video: my question is about your longer trips and how you manage storage and provisions during that time. I have a SWB VW T5 and it’s challenging enough on anything beyond 7 days with a tiny fridge and all the bedding. Admitted, I have a dog who has frozen dog food and chicken which takes up most of the fridge & freezer compartment but even if I use my cool box I still have to find a way to freeze the big ice blocks. Any tips and advice would be appreciated! Many thanks! xx 🙏🏻❤

[@gies5383]

Are you still on budget with all these trips

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

A popular question on all our travels- will love to answer it in next weeks video. 👍 Thanks for contributing🙏

[@leannearnold8326]

Hi guys; question regarding the general accessibility of the outer Hebrides and further out...is there a limit in size of vehicle? Is a VW camper about the limit? Road width? Passing places etc...general driving conditions 👍 thank you xx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Leanne, thanks for this. We found Orkney really accessible- lots of ferry options from the mainland and the roads were generally fine. Lots of larger motorhomes round and about. Shetland had amazing roads thanks to the oil industry investment. All the main roads can cope with large vehicles. Ferries are more limited and from what we believe, larger vehicles are much more expensive than our T6 on the ferries. We didn't see many MH's on Shetland. From our experience, the Outer Hebrides are all ok for all vehicles, although word on the grapevine is that the islands are very busy in the summer months and ferries need to be booked well in advance. On our travels, we have seen loads of MH's on the Outer Hebrides. Hope this helps? We will hopefully include this discussion in next weeks Q&A video👍

[@paulmartin4199]

What are your key tips and thoughts for the transition from short trips in your van (upto 10 days whilst working full time) to long trips of say upto 8 weeks post retirement? Paul and Alex

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks for this question- a great one for us to think about. We will definately include this in the video✅ Thanks for contributing- it really helps. 👍

[@cedarcanoe]

13:54 great picture

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks👍

[@louisesymonds9963]

What inspires you to plan a trip & the things you see. I’m quite new to campervanning & have stayed quite close to home so far. I’m hoping to have more time in 2 years & I wonder where to start? It seems a bit overwhelming! I’ve been enjoying Martin Dorey’s Take the Slow Road England and Wales for ideas. X

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Louise- what a great question that is going to be good to answer. We will have a go at it in the video. Thanks for the comment. Have a great week👍

[@louisesymonds9963]

Oh thank you! I’ll look forward to that.

[@FrugalMrB]

What apps would you recommend for finding camping spots, and what are your views on solar panels - a necessity or not?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Great question Andrew- will definitely include this in the video next week✅ Thanks for contributing👍

[@jasonnicol8302]

Love rate my shower, can I ask what the devil was the green stuff in the corners of the shower?? The big fluffy sheep was beautiful, I’ve ordered one from Amazon!😂 The wind and rain reminds me of our recent visit to Harris and Lewis.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Jason...didn't want to focus too closely on the shower scene😂 The Swiss Valley sheep were just magical- worth the price of the entry fee just to see them. We actually love the wild weather...as long as it's not all the time. It reminds us we are alive and also makes us appreciate when its not blowing a hoolie🙏 Have a great week👍

[@jasonnicol8302]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust fully agree. Just also like to say thanks for a summer of great videos. Been a blast watching them. I had a Leffe in the fridge waiting for you on passing the Kelpies on the way home. 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🍻

[@nataliewilcoxlindsey9153]

What camera do you use for taking photos?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Love this question Natalie- will definitely cover this in next weeks video...I don't need an excuse to geek out on camera tech talk😂 You may be surprised at what we have to say. Thanks for contributing👍

[@alanbenham4139]

🙏

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Alan👍

[@fanicahriscu1769]

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[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Fanicia- glad that you like what we are trying to do. I love your drone work on your channel- not something I have really thought about (yet!) but very inspirational. I love your work on the Plivice and Dolomites. Thanks for the comment and subscribing. Have a great weekend. 👍

[@fanicahriscu1769]

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[@fanicahriscu1769]

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